She Came From Nowhere
by CCC103
Summary: She wasn't dropped at an orphanage or even in town. It was chance. Or fate. Or as she would one day believe, maybe chance and fate are one and the same, just perspective. Whatever it was, her life would always begin and end with him.
1. Prologue 1: Found

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. Would love to hear your thoughts :). Slow-burn romance.

* * *

Yumi. A name given to her because of its simplicity, not for any premonition or hope. But its meaning would one day create itself.

She wasn't dropped at an orphanage or even in town. It was chance. Or fate. Or as she would one day believe, maybe chance and fate are one and the same, just perspective. Whatever it was, her life would always begin and end with him.

* * *

 _Almost home._

He blurs through the trees, branches slick with the torrential rain. Water weighs down every inch of his standard jonin garb. Two figures follow quickly in succession after him.

A small chakra signature signals from his right.

His eyes quickly dart in that direction and he comes to a sudden halt.

The two figures flank him - Tomiko Hyuuga, a pale woman with piercing translucent eyes on his left. And Akio Nakamura, a shorter, stockier man on his right.

"What is it?" Akio asks in a tone void of any formalities. Tomiko eyes him from the side with disdain.

" **Hatake-sama** , do you sense something?" - Akio rolls his eyes.

Sakumo points east.

"A weak chakra signature from that direction. It's not moving, but if it's coming from so close to the village we need to assess the area."

Tomiko nods and activates her byakugan. As she locks on to the signal her brows furrow in confusion. She quickly scans the entire surrounding perimeters as well.

"So?" Akio asks.

"A child...a baby."

 _A BABY? Out here?_

Thunder crackles loudly in the sky, the rain unimaginably heavier than before. _Shit._

"Let's move." Akio and Tomiko quickly nod at his side.

They disappear in a blur.

The hospital smells permeated thickly through the air - a fine dance between sickness and sterilizer brought to an aggressive stampede by the moisture of the storm. Sakumo leans against the white wall, staring unflinchingly at Door 332.

He had dismissed his team hours before. Tomiko left with a terse bow, while Akio gave a mild struggle to persuade him home. Both refused any farewells for each other. He'd need to work on that before their next mission. Yes, their relationship had always been tense, but not to this extent.

Five years ago he would have dropped the baby at the hospital entrance, turned in his report, and slept soundly in bed. But that was before his son. Sakumo smiled to himself.

 _My son._ The kid looked just like him. What Sakumo always considered a pity, since his mother was beauty in every sense of the word.

And just as he was getting a bit too sentimental, Door 332 slams open.

Kaya, the primary medic for the night shift, looks him in the eye. Her face is pale from fatigue.

"Is she -"

"Quite well." For the good news, Kaya looks strangely perturbed. While Kaya was one of Konoho's best medics, when she was not in the operating room a social discomfort took over.

"May I?" He is already walking for the door. Kaya's hand comes up to block him gently.

"Hatake-san, her chakra is - well it's not uncommon for chakra channels to be a bit unstable amongst newborn if their chakra channels develop too early - but in her case, I'm concerned more for the opposite condition."

"Ah, a girl." He smiles to himself. He'd always wanted a daughter and son.

"...Yes."

"And she's _too_ stable?"

"For a newborn, definitely. But, her body has been near-freezing for at least two hours. Her survival instincts may have kicked in and we're seeing a pseudo-stability, parallel to a boost of adrenaline stamina. The usual treatment is a simple seal that dissipates naturally over time as chakra builds in an infant's body. Doing so in this case could hurt her development..."

"Then it doesn't seem like there's issue here. Thank you for your assessment Kaya-san."

She understands his dismissal.

"Hai, Hatake-san. I expect her to wake up tomorrow"

He nods as she shuffles away down the hallway. Peeking over the edge of the crib he sees her still heavily bundled, but no longer in the wet rags he found her in. Tufts of soft brown hair peek out of the white sheets.

There would be questions and curiosity and disapproval. But for now, just a child asleep was enough. So tomorrow he would deal with it.

Sakumo leans over to run his hand lightly across her cheek - a splotchy, dusted pink plump. Just centimeters away, he stops himself. He really is getting soft. She's not his, but she is someone's.

He slips away in the shadows, heading home. Two days and he would leave for a month long mission. Time with his own son came first, always.


	2. Prologue 2: Touch

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. Would love to hear your thoughts :). Slow-burn romance. I will get into Yumi's (OC) personality more soon, but it's important for me to establish the moments when she is an infant.

* * *

 _Boring._ This was the last place he wanted to be, a hospital surrounded by coddling adults and useless infants.

"Dad, can we go now?"

"Kakashi, we just got here." Literally. They just took one step across the threshold. "C'mon this will be fun."

And with clear disdain, "I thought we were going to eat."

"Right after." He pushes Kakashi along encouragingly. Kakashi pushes back.

" Anything you want, okay?"

"Tempura."

"Again?"

He nods and his pace quickens. _At least I'll get something out of this_.

Nurses swivel to get a peek at the famous Sakumo Hatake. Kakashi rolls his eyes as another nurse offers to guide them... straight down the hall. In some ways he prided himself on the attentions his father always drew. But, after it happens at every twist and turn, any self-satisfaction soon turns toward annoyance.

Maya waves them over. "Hatake-san"

"You're here on the day shift as well? You should get some rest." She smiles, but her discomfort lingers.

"T-thank you for your concern. I just wanted to monitor her." - Nodding toward Door 332 - "Overnight. Infants are a bit trickier to predict. Um... there was something I'd like to discuss with you..."

She glances at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, why don't you go in and say hi while Maya-san and I catch up?"

 _Grown-ups are so obvious_.

"Hai." He walked into room 332 to find only one crib.

 _I hate kids_. And no, he was not a kid. He was much too independent for that nonsense!

He'd fully expected the room to be filled with funky smells and piercing cries, but it was quiet to a fault. His entrance drawing more attention than the bundle in the middle of the room.

He saunters over to the crib, eyes drifting down toward the baby. She was chubby and plump and red and looks, well, exactly as he expected a baby to look. She was relentlessly fragile. And _oh god, Kakashi get yourself together you do NOT want to pinch her cheeks_.

He huffs. _This is a waste of time._

He walks past the crib to the closed window. Blue skies hover leisurely above quaint back roads of Konoha. His eyes narrow as an ANBU scales across an orange rooftop. The masked figure hops down, away from sight.

He glances back at the crib, then the door. _What's taking him so long?_ But he knows from experience that the ANBU was likely for his father - and if it was important enough to warrant ANBU delivering the news, he wouldn't see his father for a couple more hours.

 _I should be training._ The space was certainly large enough for a few basic ninjutsu exercises, and if his father had anything to say about it, well then he shouldn't have left him alone so long.

His eyes close, blocking out the whites and steels of the hospital room, instead imagining an open training field. His hands come up to form a quick sequence of seals for Bunshin jutsu. Even without opening his eyes he knows three perfect clones stand beside him.

A soft current of wind dances around him, playing with the tips of his hair.

His eyes snap open as he dispels the clones with a poof. He **knows** the windows are closed and he didn't hear the sound of the door opening. His eyes scan the premises - nothing has changed. He's sure of it.

A small gurgle sounds from the crib. He freezes. Then another, this time louder - a warm, airy little noise. Nothing like the shrieks he had imagined.

He walks back over to the crib. Round doe eyes blink to life and he stares into innocent brown hues. And before he can stop the thought from forming - _cute._

Wait. _Did she cause the wind?_

Tiny arms and legs flail under the heavy sheets. Annoyance seeps onto her features as she struggles to get out from under her nest. A whine escapes her lips as her arm almost frees itself - almost, but not quite. She squirms again to no avail.

And he can't help but **LAUGH.** A full-hearted laugh that reaches wide into the back of his chest. Uninhibited by any sort of appearances he has to uphold - I mean, his only audience is this child.

He swears she **pouts** at his outburst.

"Alright, alright I'll give you a hand."

He gently lifts the covers back.

"Was it you with the wind?"

She gurgles incomprehensibly. He sighs, again.

Because - "Why am I even talking to you?"

Her hand extends toward him, waiting for him to take it.

When he doesn't, her head tilts questionably to the side. Her arm stretches further toward him, fingers clasping at air. And then he feels it: a light wind pushing him toward her. Pushing wasn't necessarily the right word, because it felt more like it was drawing him in.

He leans in, his own hand gently taking hers. And the feeling is instantaneous. Her chakra touches his own - subtle and soft. Like the first rays of light warming the earth. An honest communication between two hearts.

For the first time in her life, she smiles. Because in him, she feels kindness and hope and loyalty.

And his heart warms. Because in her, he feels honesty and joy and trust.

For a brief moment, something fiercely protective surges inside him. But he'll never tell a soul.


	3. Prologue 3: The Mission

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

She saw differently than most, though she wouldn't understand until later. Every living creature had chakra and she could sense it before her eyes developed to make out simple shapes or colors. It was like floating as the air itself, feeling every edge and crevice, but seeing no texture or meaning. A dull sensitivity that would quickly sharpen.

And even amidst the screeching and crying of the other ten infants around her, chakra was so very loud.

And too honest.

Her first night at the orphanage, a warden had unwrapped her to bathe. On first touch, she felt Yumi's chakra pulse into her own. **_CONFUSION. FEAR_** _._ _ **DISGUST**_ _._ Chakra was complex, but it never lied.

And so she slowly steeled herself away. Learning only to read others, never exchange.

* * *

Kakashi, sweaty and dusted with grime, walks the dirt path on the outskirts of town. The path he treads is overgrown with branches and brush, with definite signs of usage, but not maintenance.

He looks up at the glittering sun as it cuts in and out of the overhead foliage. His thoughts wander to his father. As he'd suspected, the ANBU was for Sakumo - an urgent notice that their mission was pushed up and they'd need to depart that night.

Unlike most children, throwing tantrums when their parents were torn away on urgent business, Kakashi revered these moments. A sign that his father was irreplaceable - an incredible asset to Konoha, whose skills they employed only for elite missions.

 _And I'll be just like him._

Sakumo had apologized to his son with an affectionate pat on the head and promise of more tempura.

The trees begin to thin, and he turns toward a wood building in mild disrepair. To anyone and everyone who asked, he'd tell them: "My father requested I visit her, him being the one who saved her." A calculated, dependable, and very true response - his father did ask that. No one would hear how grateful Kakashi was that he had.

With an ease only possible from familiarity, he pushes past the front door, veers quickly to the right stairwell and heads up to the second floor, fifth door on the right. Without a glance at any other infant, he bee-lines straight to her crib.

He knows when he leans in to scoop her up that she is already looking straight at him. He knows when he pulls her into his arms she smiles. He knows when he sweeps her brown hair back she shyly snuggles her face into his chest.

"Yumi-chan." She pouts, face scrunching. Her name - a random scribble on an official document by a volunteer at the hospital - hasn't settled with her yet.

"You'll get used to it soon. And I like it." Her pout remains firm. If he'd learned anything about her growing personality, it was that she was very clear on what she liked and what she did not like. And no one would tell her otherwise.

"Ran into Gai on the way here. He wouldn't leave me alone until I knocked him down a couple times..."

Yumi's face brightens. And he'd learned she had a wicked sense of humor.

She giggles and _don't you dare blush._ But he does.

A baby wails from behind him.

"Let's get you some fresh air, okay?" She simply rests her head against him as he cradles her.

She is never sleeping when he visits, but the moment he carries her outside under the shade of the trees, she drifts into slumber like the gentle breeze that combs her hair.

He knows that when he leaves he'll miss her.

* * *

A capture-or-kill mission gone wrong. They had spent weeks gathering intel of a convoy passing through a small town just outside of Takigakure. Their target: "The Ghost of Iwa". But their teamwork had suffered the past months. They weren't ready.

Blood drips heavily from a deep gash in Tomiko's stomach.

Akio, left arm torn off, struggles to stay upright.

"Sakumo... go after -"

"We can make it back. It's a days' run. I'll carry Tomiko."

Their primary aim was to capture him for the interrogation team to gain intel. But in the off-chance he was more difficult than they could handle, they definitely couldn't let him leave alive. He'd gained his moniker by the mysterious circumstances left in his wake - no bodies, no blood, just a light haze drifting through the air.

Tomiko cries out, waking with pain evident in the tremor of her voice. Akio turns away, guilt across his face.

"Let's go."

They wounded The Ghost, but not a fatal blow. Enough to force a retreat, but not enough to kill. He knows. But if he doesn't go now, neither would make it.

The choice is easy.

"NOW."

They blur away.

* * *

The ramifications were far greater than he could have ever anticipated. Iwa, which had previously assumed the northern front was safe from Konoha forces and used it heavily as a route for their intel communication, was on high alert. It only took Iwa 3 months to weed out the recon networks Konoha had developed in the north for _years_.

He'd always been sure of his decisions, he needed to be as a leader. But hate wears down on you. Hate and anger and guilt and regret. And he wouldn't say it out loud or even think it too long, but _Should I have let them die? No. No. NO. STOP IT._

When Tomiko woke in the hospital she knew by the way the doctor looked at her - a mixture of withheld pity and open blame - they'd failed. Tomiko was a Hyuuga and her pride would never allow herself to forgive their failure. "You should have let me die." she'd told him. She would never fully recover.

Akio was worse. He had been overcompensating, trying to make up for Tomiko's dismissals even after Sakumo's reprimand to them both. It had cost them, but Akio's guilt ignited into blame. "I TOLD you to just GO. I TOLD YOU!" he'd screamed in his face.

But it was the way his son looked at him. It was that despise which truly and completely broke him.

* * *

A/N: I will get into Yumi's (OC) personality more soon, but it's important for me to establish all the moments when she is an infant. Would love to see some reviews up in here! I swear we're out of prologue next chapter.


	4. Simple & Sweet

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

Yumi balances in a crouch at the top of a utility pole, 40 feet off the ground. She peers into the distance, past Konoha's tall stone walls and past the second tree line, zeroing in on a familiar chakra signal. _He's almost home._ Her eyes close, a faint smile across her face and wind dancing through her long brown hair. A current brushes past her ear and she giggles, responding to its whisper.

In the distance, Manami (Mana for short) sprints up the dirt path. Seven-years-old with rich curly blonde hair that can't be tamed. Beads of sweat build across her forehead.

Without opening her eyes, Yumi yells from her perch, "Mana-chan if you don't hurry, Tomi will think you stood him up."

"Gah!" - Mana trips from the sudden interruption. She's beautiful even at this age and clumsy beyond belief.

"Y-yumi-chan, it's not a date. You'll be there." Mana pushes herself upright, patting the dust out of her skirt.

Finally opening her eyes, Yumi warmly glances down at the familiar sight. Her friend was always littered with minor bruises, but she never went a day without a smile.

Yumi hops down with an easy padding of chakra to her knees and calves.

Following the flow of chakra was as natural to her as registering someone's hair was black or eyes were green. So when Kakashi decided to take a short-cut and hop up to her second floor window sill, she'd made out the thin pooling of chakra around his feet. The next time he saw her, she was walking **at three months**. A simple boost of chakra to sturdy her developing limbs. She'd garnered mild attentions around the orphanage for the feat. When that walking became **walking on walls** , attention took a turn toward distress.

"I'll chaperone. You should make him wait for the good stuff." Mana's head swivels toward Yumi with a swish.

"WHAT?!"

While physical dexterity had come easily to her, she'd taken her time with language. It wasn't until she turned two that she said her first word - a confident "NO" when an older boy tried to take her meat bun, a favored treat. Full sentences spilled quickly after and her favorite minor pastime became finding different things to say to make people uncomfortable.

"I don't know, Genma-san said that. What's it mean?"

"Yumi please don't talk to him anymore. Also, I'm older than you."

Mana grabs Yumi's hand, dwarfing her petite three-year-old form.

"Let's go!" Mana yells, pulling her into town.

"Mm."

* * *

Despite the war, Konoha had remained in good shape. There was much less bustling about in the marketplace than in its heyday, but small businesses survived and carried on as they always had.

Yumi didn't have any sort of preference for or against Konoha, but she enjoyed its diversity. There, of course, were ninjas. But she took an interest in everything imaginable - ring-making, healing herbs, rivers, trade embargoes, chopsticks - literally, everything. She not only wanted to know why some people had an affinity for various elements, but also why the ocean had waves, where dumplings originated, why the sun didn't sizzle them up, and how to brew the finest cup of tea.

But as was evident with the throngs of students surrounding the Academy, becoming a ninja was the style of the times.

Mana freezes with her first step past the Academy gates. Her eyes lock onto Tomi surrounded by a group of ten other students. Nine-years-old and only two years from graduation, his easy nature instantly earns him friends. His friends burst out in laughter and he smiles.

Mana fidgets - out of place. So with the loudest voice she can muster, Yumi yells across the courtyard -

"TOMI, LOOK OVER HERE." _Not my most clever_ _line..._

"Shhhh oh my god, Yumi-chan please - "

But Tomi is already there, enveloping Mana in the fullest hug he can muster. Yumi smiles - _well as long as it works._

* * *

 _DING._ The door bell chimes as Mana, Tomi and Yumi step inside a quaint bakery filled with the soft scent of toasted sugared pecans.

"Ahh I really missed this place!" Tomi yells, immediately slipping through the employee gate to throw on an apron.

"And you're sure this is what you want to do with your rare free time?"

"Definitely." Tomi and Mana share a secretive smile. Well, Yumi notices, but she'll let them have their moment.

Mana's parents run a small bakery and every weekend would bring unsold baked goods to the orphanage. Tomi's parents had both passed away in the Second Shinobi War and he was just one of the many orphaned. He was outgoing and chatty, but never once got around to talking about his parents. Both being those above-and-beyond generous souls, Tomi and Mana became instant friends.

Yumi, on the other hand, just liked sweets. Like, a lot. So she would follow Mana around until she got seconds.

"Me too." Yumi pulls over an apron large enough for ten of her.

"Yumi-chan what do you want to make?"

"Can you to teach me Forest Fruit Cake?"

"Yeah, let's see if we have everything - Tomi-kun can you check the back for more vanilla?"

"On it, boss!"

"And Yumi-chan, you can start on the whipped cream - you remember right?"

"Hai!"

She hops onto the counter to grab a bowl from the high cupboards, while Mana sets various bags of ingredients and cups onto the table.

There wouldn't be many more days like this. But while it lasted, it was nice. And she would remember simple moments like this for the rest of her life.

* * *

Yumi carries a cake box wrapped with purple ribbon in one hand as she walks toward the Konoha entrance gates. Tomi and Mana needed some one-on-one time and honestly, she got what she wanted - cake.

It was perfect timing. She could sense Kakashi's chakra signature just outside of Konoha's walls. There were three other signatures beside him - one she recognized as his sensei, and two weaker ones she wasn't familiar with. Kakashi's visits had exponentially decreased as he took on more missions. Though it was easy for her to tell there was more to it than that - _I'll wait until he's ready to tell me._ She would always be there, so she really didn't mind. And besides, in her own opinion, she had a lot going on exploring all her childhood curiosities.

But the moment his familiar grey hair pops into view, she knows how deeply she missed him. A subtle pang in the back of her chest that she'll always welcome.

She stops directly in front of the four-man team, who spare her a quick glance. With an internal snicker, she puts on her best "cute little girl" voice and dramatically runs toward Kakashi, throwing her little arms around his torso.

"Papa!"

The reaction is instantaneous.

Rin pales. Obito stammers out a "W-WHAT?! KAKASHI YOU - A-AND WHAT?"

To which Kakashi smoothly just shrugs and says: "Things happen."

Obito's whole face turns a deep red, jaw dropping to the ground. Yumi lets out a full laugh at their dismay.

Minato coughs loudly. "Yumi-chan right? I've heard about you. I'm Minato Namikaze." _He's heard about me?_

"Hai. Nice to meet you all." She sticks out her hand formally, her "cute little girl" personality completely gone.

Rin leans down and takes her hand.

"I'm Rin Nohara, um... are you Kakashi's friend?"

"Mm."

Obito sizes the little girl up and down, seeing her cake box.

"Did you bring us cake?! - And I'm Obito Uchiha!"

Yumi freezes. _It's MY cake. But..._

"I can share -" Obito whoops loudly.

"But I want dinner."

Sweatdrops.

"Yumi-chan, why don't you eat with us? My wife usually prepares a feast when we get back from missions."

"Will there be meat?"

"Ha..yes?"

"Okay sounds nice."

Minato leads the way. And Rin kindly leans down to ask, "Yumi-chan should we tell your parents you'll be late?"

"No, that's not necessary." And it's an answer that doesn't bother her at all. Because at this point in her life, she feels happy and full and loved.

She grabs Kakashi's hand. Team Minato gaze at the scene in open wonder.

"Kashi-kun, I missed you." She doesn't blush or stammer because she knows this as unequivocally as she knows herself.

Kakashi feels the eyes of his team burning into his back. So as coolly as possible -

"Yeah..." And she doesn't even care what the hell that's supposed to mean, but she appreciates the accompanied light squeeze to her hand.

* * *

A/N: Thank you Dark Rose Charm for the reviews. Really motivating :). Let me know if you guys are itching to see something, but I have some plans for them...just wanted a lighter chapter for now.


	5. Still a Child

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

"You're house is on fire."

That was Yumi's opening statement upon seeing Minato's home. Without missing a beat, Minato blurs inside. And upon seeing that...nothing is on fire, he kneels beside Yumi with a frown.

"Yumi-chan, it's not okay to joke about things like that."

Confusion flashes across her face. She lets go of Kakashi's hand and patters into the homey entry way. It's a modest home, but she can tell it's a happy one. The perfectly framed pictures through the hallway, well-watered plants, and smell of a home-cooked meal say it all.

A woman glares from the living room, ladle in one hand while the other rests on her hip. She has the most striking, flaming red hair - almost as bright as the flames encircling her. Yumi glances back at Minato, Rin, Obito and even Kakashi all giving her strange looks - _I guess no one can see it_. It certainly wasn't the first time that's happened.

Kushina's frightening persona instantly melts upon the sight of the chubby-cheeked, doe-eyed little girl.

"Ahh who is this little cutie?"

She swoops in for an affectionate hug, but Yumi quickly side-steps, walking straight past the shocked woman.

"Eh?"

Minato's eyes widen a smidge. Kushina wasn't using her full speed, but Yumi's movements were certainly faster than an average ninja. Yumi sets her cake box down onto the counter with a sigh.

Kakashi decides to step in and take some responsibility for his guest.

"Sorry Kushina-san, she's shy." Yumi tenses.

Kakashi nudged Yumi gently in the arm. She could just apologize. And if it had been anyone else besides Kakashi, she might have. Maybe. I mean, it really didn't seem important as long as the house wasn't actually on fire.

But _he's supposed to be on my side._ So instead she completely ignores him, turning her back.

Obito lets out an obnoxious laugh.

"You can't even get a kid to listen to you!"

"Namely, you." He retorted.

Rin, ever the arbitrator, "It was probably an honest mistake, isn't that right Yumi-chan?"

 _How can no one see this?_ The energy was massive, both a force pushing everything away and pulling greedily in. It wrapped around Kushina's belly in endless circles, living and breathing and dying all in one motion.

She gives a slow nod.

Minato steps in to diffuse the situation, "Alright, we're all probably just on edge and hungry from the long mission."

"Ah! The food is almost ready." Kushina hops back into the kitchen.

"I'll help set the table!" Rin follows quickly after to gather the plates.

Minato glances at Yumi, back still turned to Kakashi. He smiles softly. They are still just kids.

* * *

Kakashi gently shifts an almost-asleep Yumi on his back. Obito and Rin had just left, carrying boxes of leftovers from Kushina.

 _Well, dinner was interesting..._

At some point Yumi's face had flashed with realization and she'd asked Kushina if she was pregnant. Obito had maturely screamed "She's calling you fat!" Kushina had of course punched him and denied any pregnancy. To which Yumi had simply said, "Oh. Never mind." and continued eating her steak as if nothing had happened.

Yumi incoherently mumbles into Kakashi's ear.

"Sleep. I'll take you home."

"Yumi-chan, you can come for dinner anytime you want, okay?"

"Thank you."

Kushina reaches down and affectionately smooths out Yumi's hair. Yumi inhales sharply, burying her face into Kakashi's shoulder, away from Kushina's hand.

 _She doesn't like Kushina?_

"Thanks Kushina-san, Minato-sensei."

As he walks away, Yumi pokes her head out. Kushina's hushed voice carries over the wind -

"I think she felt him..."

 _Felt who?_

Yumi's arms tighten around his neck.

The night is brisk, but the town is still alight with drunken couples and old shop-owners starting to clean up. They walk in companionable silence, listening to the bustle of town life.

As the path dissolves away from town, the soft blues of the moon become the only guiding light.

"Do you not like Kushina-san?"

"It's not that."

"Then what? She's kind you know."

"Yeah...but I wasn't lying."

Of course he'd always known Yumi was different, it wasn't hard to ascertain. She was too sharp and too agile.

"I know." Yumi let's out an exasperated huff.

"Ha? Then why did I need to apologize?"

"It's called having social tact - sometimes you need to read a room for what's appropriate, outside of the truth."

"That sounds annoying."

She wasn't like him. She was a child, naive and pure and his talents lay in the battlefield. He was better than his peers and his elders. And if he wasn't, he would be without a doubt.

Most of all, she didn't have any holes in her heart. The holes that were slowly tearing him apart. The holes that he would protect her from.

"Yumi-chan -"

"- BUT I get it."

They lapse into silence again. The wooded path quiet, save for the periodic chirp of a cricket.

He was both surprised and completely unsurprised to see Yumi waiting for him at the entrance. She had a knack for knowing where he was at all times. But she had never intruded on his life outside of his visits. On his life as a ninja. He had been avoiding her, minutely. And he'd assumed she'd forget all about him soon enough - she was still at that age. So slowly he would build an impenetrable wall between them.

"Don't run away from me." She really was too sharp.

"Yumi-chan..."

"It doesn't matter."

Her little hands tighten around his jacket.

"Whatever it is. It doesn't matter."

His heart thumps against his chest.

"Because I'll always find you."

He chuckles softly. And that hole inside of him closes a little bit more.

"Alright. Do your best."

* * *

She stills deep inside her bed and counts the two shadows from outside her window.

She had no idea what they wanted, but over the past month she'd noticed someone tailing her. Usually only one presence, but sometimes two. Their chakras were larger than that of a civilian and refined. A sort of presence that attempts to hide itself.

It didn't seem aggressive, just watchful. So she let them be, drifting into slumber. And in her dreams, she was the wind itself, whipping through the infinite sky.

* * *

A/N: Still pretty light but will get into harder plot points next chapter! Reviews appreciated - would love to hear your thoughts :). Enjoy!


	6. Aim True

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

Her eyes follow the swift movements of Kakashi in the trees of Training Ground 7. Minato disappears, narrowly missing a strike to his left arm. Obito and Rin are collapsed, exhausted below them.

The clang of blades echoes sharply through the forest.

She usually avoids the training grounds at all costs - it was a place for ninja. And in her experience, ninja were sneaky and strange. Their chakra said one thing, while their words said another. But Team Minato was a constant presence on Training Ground 7 during off-days, so she lingered more often than desired.

It was easy to see who specialized in what on the field. Rin was the support medic and defensive team player. Kakashi and Minato were the obvious all-around strong offense performers, but Obito had a fiery passion that was not to be overlooked. Literally. He used his Fireball Jutsu more often than anything else. She would argue, too often it was predictable. Yumi could see the build-up of chakra from deep in his gut, spiraling and rumbling in a chaotic mass. It was the compression of that chaos that created such great power upon release. The less compressed, the more power that was lost before reaching a target. A straightforward, but still rather beautiful display.

A light jingle of bells rings gently in the wind. Minato blurs out of sight, the bells attached to his hip barely evading Kakashi's grasp. Minato's speed certainly was impressive, but it was his usage of the wind that intrigued her.

 _He can interpret it quite well_.

Still, she was almost certain he couldn't hear the wind as she could. He could move according to it and even manipulate it to his desires, but always as a technique separate from himself.

 _Well, I guess it doesn't really matter._ She pats off the dust from her pants and jumps down from the treetop.

She likes observing them, but it gets boring to hear the same story every time: Minato kicking ass. So she wanders off toward Training Ground 8.

* * *

A masked shadow lurks behind dense forest cover and watches Yumi wander into an open training field. Instead of thick forest, it's a flat dirt space with only a dense tree line surrounding it.

 _This is the girl?_

She is a tiny little thing, body still soft with baby fat she had yet to lose. A sign she hasn't trained a single day in her life. _Weak._

 _She has some obvious chakra control, but nothing extraordinary enough to prompt attention from the higher-ups._

A couple of academy students throw kunai at target posts in the clearing. _Second years at best,_ he deduces by their atrocious aim.

"SHIT! KID WATCH OUT -"

His body tenses, ready to spring forward as a stray kunai whizzes toward Yumi. He stops himself as her eyes widen. Not in shock or even terror...no, not at all. They are the wide eyes of someone analyzing everyone and everything in a split second. _Now this could be interesting._

He watches as the blade slices through the air, heading straight for her head. Because to him, if she's completely ordinary, then she's no one. Just an accident on the training field.

Her right hand extends, catching the kunai with ease. And without missing a beat she twirls it back at the target. Her stance and aim are completely unremarkable. It's actually an appalling mess of a throw - though what was he really expecting from a child?

However, to his surprise the kunai hits dead center. A twirl of wind wraps around it, guiding it, as it rips straight through the thick wooded target board toward the group of panicking students.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" The oldest boy yells out to her from a heap on the ground.

"Ah. Sorry." She says with total apathy.

The masked man smirks. _Maybe there is more to her than I thought._

* * *

The group of older students stalk toward Yumi threateningly just as Kakashi blurs between them. He glares at them with piercing intensity and they scram with a yelp as the rest of Team Minato arrives. Kakashi is a topic of awe and envy with his fast-track to chunin and rumors of his soon-to-be promotion to Jonin. Minato is legendary in his own right. Anyone with any sense would avoid a confrontation.

Minato glances up at the masked man hidden in the trees - their eyes meet and the shadow disappears. His brows furrow in worry. He looks down at Yumi, who is staring straight ahead at the shadow's previous hiding spot. _Can she sense him too?_

"Yumi-chan, it's dangerous to wander out on a training field. Stay with us next time okay?"

"Hai, hai. And don't worry." _Is she referring to the masked man?_ She smiles reassuringly with a cute tilt of her head.

"Are you okay, Yumi-chan?" Rin sweetly chimes in.

Yumi grabs her hand. They've grown close over the past few months - not unexpected considering Rin's warm and mothering nature.

"Mm. I threw a kunai."

"You shouldn't be handling that!" Her voice is laced with genuine worry and she spins Yumi around, looking for any cuts or bruises.

"Well I have you to fix me up."

A hand rests over Yumi's head and she looks up at Kakashi.

"Be careful."

"Kashi-kun, I'm hungry."

He ruffles her hair fondly.

* * *

Minato, Obito, Rin, Kakashi and Yumi converge around Ichiraku Ramen.

Yumi digs into her pork belly ramen, with a suspicious amount of pork on it.

"Yumi-chan will you be joining the academy next year?" Minato asks.

Yumi looks up from her ramen.

"EH? But she's so young!" Obito shouts.

"I think you'd make a great ninja, Yumi-chan." Rin assures her.

Yumi laughs outright.

"Why would I want to be a ninja?"

Kakashi's eyes widen slightly, but he quickly hides any shock. _She doesn't want to be a ninja?_ Not uncommon...but for someone raised around ninja and with a natural affinity for chakra usage, it seemed like the right path.

Yumi's chopsticks swiftly dip into Obito's ramen to steal a slice of his pork with a speed he can't notice. Minato smiles at her antics - she certainly had the reflexes to be a good ninja.

"What do you want to do?"

"Hmm.. I like a lot of things. Maybe a scholar? A merchant? A farmer? Something fun, where I can learn about everything!"

Kakashi expected her to join the academy just as he expected the sun to rise in the morning. But he couldn't help feel that if she didn't join the academy, it wouldn't be so bad. Actually... the more he thought about it, the more he preferred it.

"Being a ninja isn't a game and it's not about fun. Lives will always be on the line." His voice is laced with a harsh edge that surprises his teammates. He never takes a strict tone with Yumi.

 _She won't see ugliness, she won't be empty, she won't get hurt. She'll always be_ _ **this**_ _Yumi._

Yumi looks taken aback as silence pervades the group. Surprisingly, it's Obito who comes to the rescue.

"What the hell Kakashi! Being a ninja is about building bonds with your comrades. It may not be all fun and games, but being beside my friends and protecting the village is as good as it gets. And I'M GOING TO BE HOKAGE!" He stands up, a big thumbs up into nowhere.

Yumi laughs.

Her bowl of ramen is stacked high with stolen slices of meat. Kakashi reaches over, placing them back into Obito's bowl.

"Yumi-chan, eat your vegetables and I'll give you my extra pork."

Her eyes shine with warmth.

"Hai, Kashi-kun."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter I plan to introduce Gai!

Responding to fluffpenguin's question - yes Sakumo is dead after the prologue, that stuff has already happened. Kakashi's reference to the whole in his heart is about his father dying.


	7. Youth

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

That summer marked the beginning of The Third Shinobi War. To Yumi whose life hardly revolved around the battlefield, she first noticed the changes in the slower business at Mana's family bakery, the absence of Team Minato, and Tomi's early graduation from the academy.

The height of her childhood naivety.

* * *

Ten large bags of flour rest on the stone pavement, stacked up to the awning of the market beside Mana and Yumi. In the past few months Yumi had taken to a certain schedule and mornings were always dedicated to the bakery. In exchange for baked goods, of course.

"Yumi-chan are you sure you don't need help?"

"Hai, hai." And with a little chakra manipulation toward her arms, Yumi hoists them up. The stack is tall enough to block her view three times over.

Mana giggles at the sight of her tiny friend under the large weight.

"I'll give you a good tip today!"

"I want vanilla cupcakes."

Yumi walks forward in the direction of the bakery - or so she thinks, running smack into a concrete wall.

"Ah, Yumi-chan watch out." Mana sweatdrops.

"I'm okay." Totally undeterred, Yumi pivots to the left only to run smack into a middle-aged, civilian couple.

"OY KID watch out!"

"Sorry."

Mana bows deeply to the couple, cheeks flush in bright red.

"W-we're so SO sorry, we won't let it happen again." She nudges Yumi in the side.

Yumi sighs, slowly angling into a bow. Very carefully watching as the top bag slides further away from her, until it completely slips off the stack into a free-fall above the couple. _Whoops, heh._

The couple shrieks.

Yumi crouches low, then springs up into a twirl kick in the air. The sack explodes on impact with her foot into a soft, white snow and completely blankets them all. As Yumi gracefully lands, she can't help but admire it all with a mischievous grin. _So pretty._

The couple storms away in a huff, muttering - or screaming - something about the new generations total disregard for authority.

"Yumi-channnnnnnnn" Mana whines, her rosy cheeks made even brighter by the pale white powder dusting her clothes and hair. "Let's just find help, okay?"

And then... in the far reaches of her sensory periphery, she notices a chakra signal moving her way. Alone it wasn't extraordinary enough for her to notice - it felt similar to that of a civilian - save for the speed. No chakra boosting, just someone coming straight at her with unreal velocity.

"Mana-chan, do you see someone coming?"

Mana stares out into the distance, eyes narrowing in on an incoming cloud of dust. And in the center of said dust is a splotch of vibrant green.

"What the -"

Before she can even try and describe what she's seeing, the blob of green skids to a stop beside them.

The strange boy grabs all ten bags from Yumi, allowing her to see her surroundings. He does it all without any chakra and with only his left hand. Yumi blinks once upon finally catching a glimpse of the mysterious boy. Head-to-toe in tight green spandex and silky black hair in a prominent bowl-cut style.

"Please allow me to assist you little ladies. I was just finishing 500 laps around the village and needed extra training!" He tosses the stack up and down as if it is a tiny rubber ball. Even without reading his chakra, he exudes the most uninhibited presence she's ever encountered - someone who is completely who they show to the world. _Incredible._

"O-oh, umm well we would really appreciate that. Are you sure?" Mana stammers out, taken aback by his lack of restraint.

"Of course. THIS IS THE POWER OF YOUTH!"

"That's some **really** tight spandex -" Mana attempts to cough subtly over Yumi, but - "I like it."

"THANK YOU!"

Yumi laughs. "What's your name?"

The man smiles a toothy - dare she say glistening - grin. Right hand thrusts forward into a thumbs-up.

"MIGHT GUY!" _He's a weirdo. Aggressively loud. And so damn COOL._

* * *

Afternoons were dedicated to training - thanks to the pleading of Tomi, who during wartime suggested quite aggressively that they learn some self-defense. He taught them the basics of handling a shuriken and manipulating chakra , leaving them to train on their own in their free time. It only took Yumi until that afternoon to master every simple ninjutsu Tomi had demonstrated. And by the next day she could handle simple weaponry with ease and comfort. Mana, though four years her senior, was a mess in almost every aspect of training. She had no real knack for the ninja life, but she took Tomi's suggestions with a seriousness that would make any ninja proud.

But today is different. Because today, Guy is their temporary sensei.

They watch as he finishes up his 500th push-up without breaking a sweat and with Yumi seated on his back.

"Amazing Guy-senpai!" Mana yells, clapping wildly.

Yumi hops off his back.

"Just follow my lead and you'll improve in no time!"

"Hai Senpai!" Mana quickly scrambles to the ground in a push-up position. She manages five in barely-passable form, followed up by five more in inacceptable form before collapsing on the ground.

Yumi positions herself beside Mana, pumping a small bit of chakra into her core and arms. 100 push-ups in -

"Yumi-chan wow you're doing a great job!" Guy motivates from the side.

"She's very strong!" Mana chimes in, rubbing at the back of her neck. She's used to being ten steps behind, but the self-consciousness never fully leaves her.

"Mm. It's chakra strengthening - it's easier this way right?"

Guy's smile falls. He looks at her thoughtfully, fingers rubbing at his chin.

"The human body is capable of extraordinary things on its own! Try it without."

 _No chakra? Why?_

"Okay." Yumi concentrates on pulling back her chakra. Ironically, it took her more effort to NOT use it than to use it. Like speaking the same language, but trying to change your accent. Her elbows bend and as she pushes up she feels the weight of her body burn at her arms. She struggles again, arms shaking under the pressure.

"Yumi-chan, stop messing around!" Mana giggles form the side. But as she watches Yumi again attempt to push herself up, her laughter falls short. "Eh, really?"

 _I can't do a single push-up._

Yumi returns the chakra to her arms and pushes herself up, giving-up.

"Why without chakra?"

Guy puts his hand on her shoulder.

" I can't use ninjutsu." Yumi's eyes widen. She could see chakra within him, but there was a weakness of the channels allowing chakra throughout his body. The smile through which he said it suggests it wasn't weakness at all.

"You can't always rely on chakra - and you don't need to. A true shinobi doesn't take short-cuts - he works hard, then works even harder!"

"But I don't want to be a shinobi."

"YOU CAN TRULY BE ANYTHING! But always give it your most sincere effort, okay?"

He was the first taste she had of what true strength was. And for that, she would always be thankful.

"Hai!"

So she resumes her position and tries again.

* * *

Evenings were her own or Team Minato's if they were back from a mission. Tonight was one spent alone and completely exhausted from her training. The kind of exhaustion where you get home, kick of your socks, and slump back into the comforts of a soft mattress feeling victorious with a day well spent.

But her 'home' was an orphanage and the beds were far from comforting. So she climbs to a grassy nook overlooking Konoha where the wind rages freely. Her back rests against soft grass as the moon shines down on her. She holds up her hand, backlit by soft blues, watching as wind weaves around each finger. With a simple twitch of her index finger the wind changes directions, reversing its path.

Suddenly, she closes her hand into a fist and hops up. _If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right this time._

She closes her eyes. The wind around her settles into complete stillness.

She grabs three kunai from her pack and throws them toward the trunk of a tree across the clearing. The first barely slices the left edge. The second hits, but clunks weakly to the ground. And the third strikes off-center but with enough force to lodge into it. She smiles.

 _I won't leave until I hit dead center three times in a row. No chakra, no wind, no short-cuts._

She grabs three more from her pack, this time flipping in the air and throwing them mid-jump.

She would spend the rest of the night in that nook under the stars, listening to the dull THWACK of kunai hitting wood.

* * *

A/N: I'll make the next a Kakashi chapter!


	8. Jonin

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

 _Jonin._

"Jonin." Even out loud, somehow it doesn't sound right. Kakashi looks up at the sky, new uniform slung over his arm. Interesting how empty it feels to achieve something with no one there.

He treks the path to his house in no rush to be anywhere or do anything. A traditional one-story with no fluff or frills sits nestled amongst the mountain landscape. It would suit him perfectly save for its size - large enough for a family he doesn't have. He opens the front door and is assaulted by a warm, sweet scent in the air. His hand hovers over his kunai when he's suddenly tackled by Yumi.

"KASHI-KUN CONGRATULATIONS!"

He instinctively swings her up into a deep hug. She laughs as he lifts her. Hiding his face in her hair, he smiles.

"Thanks. What did you make me?"

"Strawberry shortcake!"

"Isn't that _your_ favorite?"

"Hm lucky me then." She smiles toothily.

He sets her down gently, padding into the kitchen.

"I'll start dinner."

"Eh? Cake first."

"Yumi-chan..." She was dexterous enough by this age to get away with mischief at the orphanage with ease. And she pulled at him in ways that made him unable to chastise her for it.

"But it's a special occasion."

He sighs, acquiescing - "Just this once."

She grabs a knife from the drawer and delicately begins to cut the cake. On the top is a messily written 'congratulations'.

He has a mission tomorrow so he indulges her. His first as a Jonin. His first leading his own team - a team completely dependent upon him for the success of the mission. It's a day like this that reminds him of his father and what it would mean to celebrate his rise in rank with the man he had looked up to. Instead, it's a day where bitter loneliness simmers underneath.

"Kashi-kun?" Her soft voice draws him back to reality.

She hands him a slice of strawberry shortcake. He doesn't know what to feel - a mixture of everything and nothing - so he pushes the memories away deep inside of him and resumes his usual bored look.

"It looks good." She rolls her eyes.

"But does it _taste_ good?"

And it does. The perfect, subtle sweetness. _It tastes like home._

* * *

Instead of dinner, he somehow allowed her to eat 3 more slices of cake. So he tucks her into his bed as she drowsily begins the descent into a sugar-induced sleep.

He climbs into the other end of the bed. He was more accustomed to her tiny presence in his bed than he'd like to admit. She had troubles sleeping at the orphanage since she was born. He'd assumed it was because she was brighter than all those brats she was packed in a room with - a sentiment he related to. But she'd quickly dismissed that notion, explaining simply that "the wind feels better here".

He slides his hand easily into hers and notices it immediately - the slight callousness that wasn't there before. He stares at her, looking for any other changes. Her cheeks have drastically slimmed, starting to lose her signature baby-fat.

"What happened to your hands?"

She holds her free one up, spinning it back and around curiously.

"Training? Tomi said Mana and I should learn a few things with the war and all. And he graduates next month so he won't be here all the time."

His heart stops for a beat. Anger coils inside of him - _she doesn't need this life. she doesn't WANT this life._

"You know I'll protect you, no matter what."

"Of course. " She snuggles closer "And I'll protect _you_. No matter what."

He stays awake long after she drifts into sleep, unable to dispel the slight worry over his mission to Kannabi bridge.

* * *

When she awoke, he was long gone. She was usually an exceptionally light sleeper - unable to fully control the extension of her senses in sleep - but the sugar-overload must have really done a number on her.

She stretches out her bones and climbs out of bed. Before leaving, she dusts all the corners, waters the plants and locks the front door. She drapes the spare key around her neck on a thin leather string.

 _Maybe I should go visit Yamanaka Flowers today and ask Inoichi-san to teach me some herbal medicines... Or should I visit Rikuto-san?_

With her first step onto the grounds of the orphanage, she instantly freezes. _What the hell?_

Foreign chakra was pricking at her - crawling up her spine toward her brain, trying to manipulate her chakra flow. It was nauseating. The sensation like swallowing food down the wrong pipe and instantly wanting to cough it up - where the body knows it shouldn't be.

Her eyesight blurs under a brief, dizzying spell. She clenches her fist and forces the chakra out, eyes blinking into clarity.

With an edge to her voice - "What are you doing?"

"So you noticed." An older man with a bandage around his right eye walks down the steps of the orphanage.

" **WHAT** are you doing?"

"Hmm so you can sense it and dispel it, but you don't have the knowledge to truly conquer it. It's a genjutsu I wove for you. Quite complex." He walks up to stand right in front of her. "I can teach you all about it if you'd like."

"You've been tailing me."

He smiles.

"Yes, my name is Danzo."

She could see a bright red chakra seeping from under his bandages. A slow leak that hinted of something not quite natural. She'd seen a similar red from the older members of the Uchiha clan. He exudes power and a subtle threat not to disobey him.

"I've heard of you." _ANBU. ROOT._ Making the hard choices for the greater good is how she heard it.

"Then you know I can make you stronger than you could ever imagine. You could help Konoha in the way it needs most." But she didn't care for strength and she didn't care for Konoha - not in the ways of a shinobi's blind devotion at least.

"Why me?"

"You're different."

"I'm not -"

"You know you are." She stills, because in her heart she does know. "With us you'd have a **home** and a **future**." And she did care for that.

Her hand suddenly reaches for her kunai, deflecting a tanto thrust toward her by a masked ANBU. She ducks as a second ANBU goes in for a shot. The first comes at her from behind with three shuriken - Yumi pivots quickly, deflecting each back at them. _Strong._ _Fast. So this is the difference between a Genin and an ANBU._

She feels a cold blade at her neck as Danzo hovers behind her holding a tanto.

"I can teach you everything."

* * *

A/N: Things may get sad next chapter.


	9. Knowing

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

A mission could go south at any moment. React accordingly in order to ensure the success of the mission. That was a no-brainer when the livelihood of the entire village was on the line during war. That was a no-brainer as a **ninja.** Their entire life was a sacrifice to the village in everything that they did.

So _why is Obito looking at me like that?_

"We can't leave Rin behind! We CAN'T! She's supported us this whole time with her medical ninjutsu and -"

 _Well of course - she IS a medic-nin._

Rin had been captured by Rock Nin on their way to destroy Kannabi Bridge. Obito, the love-sick fool, wanted to follow after her and forsake the mission.

"That's what is required of her for the mission. She was trained to do so."

Obito pulls him up roughly by the cuff, face livid. But it's not the anger that moves Kakashi, it's what follows.

Obito lets go of his hold, his eyes losing their fire. Everything in his body screams that this is a lost cause. An argument not even worth having.

"Forget it." Obito says, turning his back on Kakashi.

 _Who is he to turn his back on me? He who I can beat with both hands behind my back. He who is an_ _ **Uchiha**_ _and still doesn't come close to measuring up to me. He hasn't seen what breaking the ninja code can do. He doesn't understand the consequences of_ _ **failing**_ _the village. He's just a kid who yells loudly without backing it up. Emotions like that are useless in the ninja world._

But even as he thinks that, images of Rin tenderly mending them after a long mission surface. Images of Minato, Kushina, his classmates and his Yumi. He tries to bury it.

"You don't get it." Kakashi defends.

Obito stops in his tracks.

"Of course those in the ninja world who break the rules are called trash...But those who don't care about their friends are even worse than trash." And when Obito glances back over his shoulder, Kakashi sees the same conviction he's always admired.

* * *

She was too young to know how much one decision would ripple through the rest of her life. Too naive to understand what war and death and hurt looked like outside of the safe walls of Konoha. Too selfish to make a choice for someone other than herself.

Danzo had returned a few days later for her answer, but she would have told him the same thing had he not waited at all. A resolute -

"No."

Looking back on her life, she would always count this choice as her first regret. The catalyst for a pain she would never fully relinquish.

Danzo frowns near imperceptibly - "The academy would surely be too slow for you."

"I won't go there either."

He studies her face, devoid of any hesitation or child-like doubt. He hates that look - the look of someone who believes that they are closer to some truth than he is.

His hand draws toward her and she thinks for a moment he's moving to grab her neck. But instead he gently caresses a tendril of hair framing her face. The innocent move reflecting a dangerous intent.

"You don't know anything child." He says with a sneer.

And only later would she realize how right he was. As much as she knew herself, she didn't know anything at all. She had desires and goals, but nothing that had ever tested her true resolve. Nothing she'd ever had to stake anything upon.

But she doesn't know this yet.

"My answer still holds."

He smiles, looming over her.

"I'm sure we'll cross paths again."

She sticks out her left hand to shake his one free hand. He blinks at the mature gesture, but acquiesces.

"Until then." Their hands grip each other's firmly.

What she senses confuses her. A complex layering of arrogance, jealousy, fear, and power. A combination lurking in a thick cloud of darkness, fueled by an overwhelming greed. But it is never so clearly black and white with people. Because for all the darkness, she could so clearly make out a light of righteous conviction.

* * *

She runs up a loose, cobble-stone path - a steep accent on the outskirts of the main market drag. At the top is a rickety wood shop, wedged between two modern buildings. Three stories tall, it looks like it's constantly on the verge of tipping over. All-in-all, it was a horrible location for business.

The sign reads: "Books & Gadgets" - not creative in the slightest, but Rikuto is not known for his acumen as a businessman. Definitely not.

The door is ajar and she walks in. As usual, it's a mess of heaps and heaps of books in some order that only makes sense to the owner, and random gadgets balanced precariously on top of them.

"Rikuto-san?"

The sound of metal clanging and books falling fills the space. The hurried voice of Rikuto calls out from some random pile in the store -

"I'll be right there!"

A few moments later, a lanky man with a mess of shaggy brown hair steps out. Rikuto was the strangest off-shoot of a Nara she had ever met. He was only distantly related to the clan - a quarter from the genetic pot - and thus possessed few similarities. For one, the classic laziness was completely absent - you couldn't get him to stop working. But what he did adhere to was staying away from anything too troublesome, which ironically enough, was the clan itself.

"Yumi-chan, what a pleasant surprise! Have you found a curvaceous lady to set me up with?"

Oh, and he was the most incorrigible flirt. Another trait he must have inherited from his civilian side.

"The search continues."

He sighs loudly.

"But I did bring you this." She pulls out a rusted gear, the size of a thumb.

"Oh! Not quite as lovely..." He quickly mixes a few beakers together. Brightly colored chemicals sizzle together to a clear white. Head still down, focused on his concoction, he thrusts out his arm toward Yumi. His hand wiggles impatiently. She rolls her eyes at his antics but tosses the gear into his grasp.

He drops the gear into the liquid and...the rust instantly melts away. Using long tweezers he removes the gear from the liquid and holds it up to the light.

"Now that's a pretty little thing. How hard was it to nab?"

"Easy enough. There was only one guard."

"Good girl." He tosses her a heavy bag of coin. A steep price, but it wasn't an errand that any odd kid off the street could complete. And he couldn't trust a ninja to steal something from a ninja compound. In his defense, it wasn't being used! Just rusted remains of an old lab in the far reaches of an Uchiha owned training field.

"What's it for?"

"Seeing the sky." He walks over to a giant telescope - a strange contraption she's never seen before.

"Can't you just look at it?" Her brows knit together in confusion.

He smiles.

"Well, there's more to it than what we can see with the naked eye. And I want to understand that."

Her eyes widen. In that one line she sensed a companion in him. An ideology that at her core, she also believed.

"Do you know how large a star really is? Do you know how to forecast the week's weather by the shape of the clouds? Do you know why the sun is red at dawn?" He gestures theatrically around, always a character.

She shakes her head.

He grabs a book from a shelf and tosses it in her direction.

"Start there."

And so she'd learn things that the ninja world didn't care for. But she did.

* * *

A/N: Life got busy, but here's a new chapter finally!


	10. Two Paths

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

He followed the rules so he wouldn't make mistakes - so he wouldn't fail. But here he was, gazing down at Obito's crushed body. If he had just agreed to save Rin in the first place then they could have saved her together. They could have succeeded with teamwork.

But he refused to listen. And then he hesitated. _And now Obito..._

A cry sounds from Rin as tears stream down her face. Her hand clenches Obito's tightly, holding on to him harder as he slips further away.

"Kakashi...protect Rin..."

 _I won't fail you, Obito. Not again._ And he meant it. In his entire being he chose for this promise to define him.

"Yeah."

"Take Rin and go...hurry, before enemy reinforcements come."

And just as he said the words, Kakashi sensed at least two dozen ninja behind him.

"EARTH STYLE: EARTHQUAKE SLAM!" The enemy does a quick succession of hand seals, sending a massive split through the ground. Rock crumbles around them, closing in on the opening of the cave.

Kakashi stretches his arm out toward Rin.

"Rin - take my hand." She hesitates, tremors running down her whole body. Obito rips his hand from hers, forcing her to face the reality.

"RIN!"

And with one last glance she grabs on to Kakashi's hand. He pulls her up just as the cave collapses in on itself.

* * *

THWACK. A kunai strikes dead center into a wooden training post. It's only weakly lodged in, but still quite a feat for Mana. A sign of her hard work paying off. Dark purple bruises litter her arms and legs - made obvious by her naturally pale complexion.

"Yatta!" Mana jumps up and down in excitement.

Yumi smiles from beside her, observing Mana intently. She could see Mana's chakra supply that had yet to be tapped into - her body was getting stronger and she had no doubt Mana would unlock it soon if she kept on the same path.

"Neh Yumi-chan, why don't you give it a try?"

Yumi had quickly outgrown this training exercise, using more complex obstacle courses to practice. So she usually used her time with Mana to study ninjutsu hand seals. This is where training beside the Uchiha compound had its perks.

She didn't have photographic memory or a sharingan, but she did have something working to her advantage. She could see the flow of chakra. And if she was attentive, she could understand how that flow shifted as someone performed a hand seal. She wasn't yet familiar enough with hand seals to make the learning seamless, but every session it became easier and easier to imitate something she observed.

A hand seal she soon realized, wasn't always necessary, but it allowed for a quick manipulation of chakra to force it to move in necessary ways. Whenever she watched an Uchiha, the path allowing for fire techniques was usually much smoother than the path for others. Not always the case, but usually. They were good subjects as they had a strong affinity leaning toward one element, but still high potential for others. The disadvantage was that Mana and her faced a hundred condescending looks a day purely by being in the near vicinity - _the Uchiha are too proud_.

"Ah, no I'm fine." She had yet to tell Mana though. Not out of consideration for her feelings, but simply finding it unnecessary to do so.

"C'mon just one - I'll make you some cinnamon rolls."

Yumi quickly slams her book closed. Easy.

"Hai!"

"Good lu -"

But before Mana has a chance to finish her sentence, Yumi grabs three Kunai and with three undetectable flicks of her wrists hits dead center, one after the other.

Yumi expects some sort of cheer to erupt from behind her, but it's silent. And when she turns back, Mana's eyes are planted to the ground.

"Yumi-chan, you're good at this stuff. It always comes to you so easily." A strange unease crosses Mana's face for a moment. Yumi blinks at her behavior.

"W-what I mean to say, is um, I'll work hard too."

Yumi smiles. "Mm. You're doing well."

Mana smiles weakly back, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

* * *

 _I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy._

"Rin...Obito loved you...you were important to him. Because of that, I'll protect you through life and death."

 _I'm worse than trash._

He'd forfeit his life for hers - Obito deserved as much.

"Then Kakashi, my feelings -" She reaches out to him in desperation.

"I was the kind of trash that would abandon you." And with those words she knew how far he was from her.

He grips his sword tighter.

 _I can't let this be the end. For Rin._

* * *

Brown strands of hair fall into unnaturally white hands.

"She'll be useful to us. No family, no clan ties. I'll need to control her. Make sure you're ready when the time is right." Danzo says from the shadows.

A slight hiss echoes through the room as a snake coils down the pale arm.

"Of course." The snakes long tongue wraps around the hair, slithering back into his sleeve. Piercing gold eyes glint dangerously.

* * *

When he walks through the gates of Konoha, everything feels, smells, looks different. _WRONG_.

Rin keeps her eyes to the ground. Minato glances between the two, but what could he say? It takes time to heal. He had gotten there just in time to save the two, but Obito was already gone.

There's life all around them - children running through the street and packed restaurants. As they walk deeper into the city, his chest tightens. He wants to breathe, needs to breathe. He's suffocating. But to the world, he's expressionless. Not even a single bead of sweat to indicate anything's wrong. Until -

Yumi jumps down from a rooftop, her tiny body landing lightly in front of them. She watches them. _She knows. She always knows. How it's all my fault. How weak I am._ The last person he wanted to be with right now was her. She wasn't a part of it. She didn't want to be a part of it... and... he didn't deserve her. _I'm supposed to be her support and I can't even -_

"Welcome home." Yumi calls out sweetly. He fights a tremor threatening to rack his whole body. His fist tightens at his side. Rin bites on her lip, eyes moistening instantly.

"Thanks Yumi-chan." Minato pats her head.

Yumi leans over to look at Kakashi, but he avoids eye contact.

* * *

Her eyes widen, reaching out her senses around Konoha. But she can't sense him. Obito.

"Where's Obito-kun?"

They freeze. Rin starts to cry and she leans down beside her.

"He was very brave. He died saving me." _Eh?_

Rin pulls her into a tight hug, crying loudly. Something a ninja should be reprimanded for, but no one says anything. Yumi squeezes back lightly.

 _He can't be dead. He was just here last week. People die in war, but not MY people._

To her at that age death was something she understood at a distance. Her parents were dead. The eight casualties added to the memorial last month were dead. The old man in room 105 at the hospital was dead. She didn't know them, and frankly, she didn't care.

But this was OBITO. Obnoxious, hard-working, ever-tardy OBITO. This was someone who she'd laughed at and flung shuriken at just last month. She would never see him again and that was wholly confusing to a child. And so death took one step closer to her.

Rin lets go, wiping her eyes.

Yumi patters closer to Kakashi. _What can I do? How can I help? What do I say?_

"Kashi-kun it's -"

"Stop."

She makes a grab for his hand, but he maneuvers away.

"Stop."

She doesn't waver, in fact it hardens her resolve. She goes in again - he pushes her. She stumbles back, unprepared for his extreme reaction.

"Just STOP. This has nothing to do with you."

He blurs away.

And when Rin and Minato look back at her... they've never seen a look more vulnerable cross Yumi's face. The ninja life was cruel and cold and in this moment she felt how far away it was. And down the path that she'd chosen, she couldn't reconcile the two.

* * *

A/N: Anything you guys particular want to see? And whoop! Updated fast this time.


	11. Avoidance

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

The next few months came and went in a blur. She turned four and the one remarkable thing about that day was that Kakashi didn't show. He was in town - she could pin-point him within 10km outside of Konoha without a second thought. Even with the way he'd been acting...it had surprised her. She knew him. And so she knew what an active statement that was. " _We have nothing to do with each other anymore." - Is that what he's saying?_

"Yumi-chan, you okay?"

Yumi turns to see Tomi looking at her with concern. His back-to-back missions had exponentially heightened his observational skills. She could see it in the second glances he paid to every customer at Mana's bakery.

"Mm." She nods noncommittally.

"You want to talk about it?" Tomi leans down, hand gripping her shoulder. He quickly takes on his coddling, older brother tone. She sighs inwardly as the pitch of his voice heightens and he starts enunciating every word.

Tomi had heard things about her at the orphanage, but he was never one to listen to gossip. However... in this case, most things were true. He assumed she was a misunderstood child with a dry sense of humor - well, sure. But the rumors of her talking to nothing but air and somehow being able to sense your every move while not in the same room... Well he made it out to be the words of bullies, exaggerated by word of mouth. Looking at her doe eyes framed by long, soft brown hair, how could he think she was anything but a child?

"Ah. I saw a creepy old geezer peering at Mana through the window last night. Just wondering if I should report it, you know? " she completely deadpans.

Tomi stiffens instantly, his face flushing a deep crimson.

 _Of course I know it was you, baka._ But she thrives on others' discomfort and continues -

"I remember a few things about him - wearing distinctive red shorts -" Tomi looks down at his red shorts.

"A silver bangle around his right arm -" Tomi quickly hides his right arm behind his back.

"And he was -"

"O-O-OKAY YUMI-CHAN, i-it was probably just a harmless passerby. HAHAHAHA."

Tomi's first stop when returning from a mission was **always** Mana's home. It was actually a sweet gesture, so _I guess I'll go easy on him._

"If you say so. Besides, she has you to look after her." She winks at him.

He flushes impossibly redder. Coughing awkwardly, he makes a smooth departure - "Speaking of...I should help Mana with her ninjutsu practice!" He all but sprints over to the other side of the training field.

She closes her eyes, suddenly tired. The breeze drifts over her, carrying over the light sounds of birds in the treetops, then Mana and Tomi's laughter, then the raucous bumble of street food stands and towns people, and beyond that the swish of dry leaves across the pavement and everything far and few between. Her favorite sound always follows just after. The interlude of silence when the breeze is simply just the breeze, carrying over nothing but its own sound. An almost silence, but she hears it stronger than she hears anything else.

Her eyes jolt open, sensing a presence behind her. _I almost didn't notice._

But before she can look back, it's already gone.

She wraps up her scrolls and gathers her books.

 _I'll give them their space._

* * *

Kakashi traces over the scar on his left eye. The skin is still harsh and horribly discolored. A constant, physical reminder of loss every time he looked in the mirror.

He sighs, shifting his headband back in place.

 _I'll train harder. I'll get stronger. I'll protect everyone._

He walks out of the bathroom, already donning full training gear. He grabs his sword and a few weapon pouches. He glances one last time at his team photo. Beside that is a picture of him carrying Yumi on his back. He grabs it and stuffs it inside his desk drawer.

 _Enough of this. She's better off without me there. She's not a ninja._ A constant mantra he's been telling himself.

And just as he swings open the door -

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"

And as excessively loud as Gai was, he needs this right now.

"Hai, hai."

He takes off in a blur. And soon their walk to the training grounds becomes a race to the finish line.

* * *

Yumi and Rin walk hand-in-hand down a well-paved stone path. There is obvious wealth in the upkeep of the area. In Rin's free hand she holds a basket of sweet pears. In Yumi's free hand she holds a bouquet of fresh flowers.

In the distance is the large gateway of the Uchiha Compound. It's simple, yet utterly beautiful. Strung along it is a cloth with the iconic red and white symbol of the clan.

Yumi glances up at Rin, who holds a classic smile on her face. If Yumi could count on anything from Rin, it was that smile. _She's strong._

"Yumi-chan, don't mind Kakashi okay?"

"I know."

"He's just busy with training. He wants to get stronger, to protect the village - you and me included!"

"Yeah."

"He'll be fine soon enough, I know it."

"Mhm."

Everyone had been reassuring her over the past few months. _But I don't need assurances, I just need him._

She had tried to visit his home, only to find the locks changed. She had waited for him after his training session, only for him to disappear in a swirl of leaves. She had waved to him on the streets, only for him to completely ignore her and pass without a second thought - _that one was just plain rude!_

Yumi valued her time alone, everyone knew that. So she wanted to give him space, but...

Rin stops under the gate.

"Did you want to come with me this time?"

Yumi shakes her head 'no'. " I'm sure she has stories to share with you, knowing how much you meant to him."

Yumi hands Rin the bouquet.

"Thanks Yumi-chan."

Yumi watches Rin walk through the gates, heading for Obito's grandmother's house.

From inside the compound she spots a boy her age with wavy black hair. He looks straight at her. And surprisingly, breaks into a smile and waves. _How unlike an Uchiha._

She waves back and turns to leave.

"Hey, wait!"

She stills and looks back over her shoulder. Her head tilts to the side in question.

"I've seen you around here a lot. I'm Shisui." _Oh? He must be who I sensed before. He's fast._

He jogs up beside her. "I'm Yumi."

He follows her as she walks further from the compound.

"What were you reading today?" She debates whether to answer. He doesn't seem deceptive but she can't get a good read on him. Then again, Kushina was dreadfully sad to learn Yumi had no friends her age...

"The Science of Clouds."

"Ehhh how cool."

"I know it is." He laughs. It's warm and full of sincerity.

"You watch us sometimes, right?" It's a question that seems interrogative, but for some reason from Shisui, it feels harmless.

"Yeah. I've seen you practice. You're quite good." And she had. He stood out amongst the older kids he trained with - though they were older, he was stronger. And he was most certainly faster.

He blushes lightly.

"Thanks - I have a long way to go, but I'm glad I'm improving! That way I can help more people."

She smiles at the way he stares off into the distance, a light glimmering in his eye. Imagining a peace that few have the conviction to achieve. "I can help you."

He looks at her with surprise - she's surprised herself. "If you want, I mean." She quickly adds.

"I'd like that."

"Tomorrow then."

"Really?"

"Backing out?" She challenges with a smirk.

He laughs and crosses his arms behind his head. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

"Then you bring the snacks."

"Eh? W-wait a second!" But Yumi is already off.

* * *

"Urgh!" A kick to the stomach from Gai sends Kakashi skidding back a foot, but he holds his ground. He quickly recovers, ducking as another punch comes his way. From a crouch he launches up, faking left. At the last moment, pivoting the other direction and landing a solid blow to Gai's face. Gai flies back, tumbling through the dirt until he manages to regain his upright position.

"HAAA!" Through the billow of dust Gai comes charging with a relentless stream of punches. Kakashi easily follows his movement, blocking as he is slowly backed across the field. Disappearing from the front he blurs behind Gai, elbowing him in the back. Gai slams hard against the ground.

"I win."

Gai lifts his face - and instead of a look of defeat, a huge smile is plastered across his face. He gives his classic thumbs-up.

"I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"

Kakashi blinks, then sighs. He takes a seat beside Gai on the ground, leaning back to gaze at the clouds.

They lie exhausted on the dirt. Kakashi closes his eyes. The wind pulls roughly at his hair and he can only think of her.

The breeze caresses his cheek, and for a brief moment, he imagines her hand gently touching his face. Her large brown eyes sparkling amber in the light. Her sneaky laugh followed by a familiar "Kashi-kun".

 _Just for today I'll allow these thoughts. Just today_ he tells himself as more memories flood him.

 _Then I won't allow my resolve to waver._

He wants to be strong. He wants to protect all his precious friends.

Hidden beneath that, he wants a means to be happy; to deserve that happiness. And that was the only thing he didn't have the resolve to pursue. From fear. Doubt. Self-loathing... Could he truly be whole? He would find the answer one day, as a man. And never lose sight of it.

* * *

Yumi, with a trickling of chakra to her feet, walks up the wall of Rikuto's shop. She places the book back on the top shelf. Rikuto's shop looks exponentially neater now that she's taken up as his apprentice of sorts.

"Already finished?"

"Mm!" She hops off the wall onto the ground.

"The hurry here~" Rikuto waves her toward his lab in the back. He wouldn't allow her to touch anything in here for 'safety reasons', so it would perpetually stay a mess.

In a beaker is a miniature cumulus cloud - her eyes widen.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He smirks.

"How?"

"It's quite simple actually. What nature release do you think this would fall under?"

She knows Rikuto could only perform fire and earth release - and that was on a good day. But if she was just thinking of what should make this possible _, isn't it water?_

"Water."

"Then how am I doing it?" She stares hard at the beaker. "If you get it wrong, you have to introduce me to a beautiful woman!" He giggles to himself, thinking of the endless possibilities...

She concentrates harder, remembering her studies.

"Fire. And then ice?"

"Is that a question?"

"Fire. And then some cooling mechanism - since I've never seen you use an Ice release, I'll assume you just cooled the top through generic means. The beaker needs to already have water inside. As you heat it, the water evaporates and rises. And by rapidly cooling it, the air condenses into that." She points at it.

He looks utterly disappointed. "Boooring. Can't you let me have one date?"

"No, I have to watch out for my fellow women."

"You're four... But yes, yes you're right. I simply used a bag of ice at the top to cool it as I heated. Point is, every element relates to the other - that's nature. Everything working in tandem to one another. Any genin worth their salt could do this if they had the proper knowledge. You could of course create a cloud with water, but also a smart usage of fire and definitely wind."

"Wind?"

"Yes! Clouds are condensed, cool air with a saturated amount of water vapor. Water is an intrinsic part of the air we breathe. Learn to control its expansion - " His arms widen.

"And contraction -" His arms pull inward.

"And that's all there is to it. It just comes down to understanding. And control I suppose."

"Hmmm."

She grabs a closed beaker with water at the base. She places one palm at the base and one palm at the top.

"Not so hasty Yumi-chan. Controlling two nature releases, separately but at once is -"

A slight red hue emits from one hand, heating up the water. And a slight blue hue emits from the other, instantly cooling the air. Sweat forms on her brow, but she maintains the even pressure from both. It wasn't as effortless as wind, but at the base level it would do.

Rikuto's mouth drops to the floor.

A beautiful, ethereal cloud forms. Swirling, breathing, **living**.

Yumi pants slightly. The blue and red wane from her hands.

She holds the beaker up to the light - _what a simple thing_ , but her laughter is instantaneous. She's so enraptured she doesn't even notice Rikuto's serious expression. The sudden shift in his mood. All she can think is: _How lovely_.

For the first time since Kakashi's avoidance, she feels a genuine flutter of happiness.

Because the world is full of struggles... but if you wait, you'll find that it is strange and so very beautiful.

* * *

A/N: I definitely lean towards showing Yumi's life, but I wanted to give Kakashi some deep moments this chapter lol. Also realizing I really like names with only 4 letters. Yay for science.


	12. Uchiha

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

He is covered in sweat, dirt and small speckles of blood. But so is every other ninja passing through hokage tower. Even though he's back in Konoha and done with the mission, his senses hardly relax.

He is quick to notice the heavy presence of ninja - _New recruits?_ Not surprising. The number of new recruits promoted to the higher ranks was constantly growing as the demands of war increased. Send them sooner and send them younger. It was an obvious path toward mistakes, but as long as all sides of the conflict were forced to make the same ones, it didn't matter.

A group huddled in the corner are young and though whispering, hardly discreet.

"The brat came again." Their voices carry over to him.

"She shouldn't even be allowed inside the compound." _Ah, Uchiha._ The trademark jet black hair and exclusivity. He thinks briefly of the vibrant orange goggles and smiling face of his fallen comrade. A pang of guilt hits him.

In a haughty voice that suggests his father is a high-ranking official - "My father says she's after our clan secrets. Seen her watching our training exercises."

The other one laughs. "What good are techniques she can't even wield? Isn't she just a little kid?"

"More like a freak. I heard she drove her mother insane from inside the womb. Then became an orphan when she killed her own -"

" **KAKASHI!** " His eavesdropping ends with the cheerful voice of Rin. She waves to him from the end of the hall.

"Rin-chan, why are you here? Go get some rest."

She looks sheepishly up at him, a soft pink painting her cheeks. "I thought we could grab lunch."

"I have to submit the mission report. Go without me." He makes to pass her, but she grabs his hand.

"We haven't had a good meal in weeks. Please?" Rin tilts her head to the side with a smile. He sighs. _Where is this going?_

He acquiesces anyway. " I can meet in an hour."

"Yatta! Yumi-chan will -" She realizes her mistake when Kakashi freezes.

Silence.

"You're just hurting her in the end."

"But...but she's our friend!"

As if a cosmic reminder, the hokage's door suddenly swings open. A ninja staggers out covered in blood, but without any open wounds. His eyes are empty, devoid of feeling as he exits in a broken trance. People look on - not in sympathy, but in disapproval. Their glares hoping to imbue in him the hardened mentality of a ninja.

Kakashi's eyes follow his figure with his own mask of emotion up. _That's why... I have to protect her this way._

"Don't bring her up again." His voice sounds harsh even to himself.

Kakashi gently disentangles his hand from Rin's.

She barely hears his whisper as he closes the hokage's door behind him - "Please..."

Of course, he wouldn't show for lunch. And Yumi would be none the wiser.

* * *

"Again."

"Are you sure this is working?" Shisui says, holding up his hands in the ready position once more.

"Not at all." Yumi admits without hesitation. She is positioned behind Shisui, her palms flat against his back.

"Haaa?" He strains his neck around and sees Yumi with eyes closed. A look of complete concentration. He smiles, easily reinvigorated by her unspoken determination.

"This time 50% power."

"Hai!" His hands quickly shift through the seals - "FIREBALL JUTSU!" Flames quickly envelop the top of the lake, glittering over the surface in dangerous proximity.

And once again she concentrates on feeling the chakra move within him. _Such power_. _So much potential._

They'd been training together periodically for a few month. Everything before was her simply reading his chakra flow. He is prodigious and therefore each move he makes is so precise it's hard to pinpoint any cracks. But she can tell that for how much chakra he is inputting into the jutsu, he isn't outputting as much as he could be. Like walking around a lake instead of crossing straight over via a bridge. A waste of resources. _But where?_

His breath let's up. He pants lightly, but hardly warn out. "Did you do anything?"

She shakes her head. _Close._ Like a word just on the edge of one's memory - an outline searching for clarity. And once you grasp it, it's yours.

"No. Again." _I'll get it this time._

"How about lunch first?"

Her hands instantly fall from his back, eyes flying open.

"Mm!"

He chuckles, having learned some of her quirks already.

He walks back along a path they have never used yet. "C'mon!"

She patters after him.

Her eyes widen slightly as they quickly approach a traditional, two-story house. _Shisui is from a powerful family._ Powerful even by Uchiha standards. She hadn't realized until now, but the training ground was private property located right in Shisui's backyard. They had initially practiced on the grounds just outside of the compound, but had soon changed areas on his suggestion and consideration for the charred trees.

"Why should we have to do that?" The sound of a cup slamming hard against a table echoes to them outside.

Yumi grabs Shisui's hand, stopping him from entering.

The same masculine voice yells - "Isn't that just what they want?! To keep our clan under their control?"

He grins assuredly and leans down to whisper in her ear. "Oto-san has a temper, but he's all talk. He's just showing off in front of Kaa-san."

She doubts that heavily.

But sure enough, when Shisui slides open the door, the yelling instantly stops. Shisui's Oto-san coughs, glancing away with a blush on his cheek. Shisui's Kaa-san giggles fondly.

"Kaa-san we're hungry!"

"Oi is that the first thing you say to your mom when you come home?!" Shisui's Oto-san barks out.

His Kaa-san laughs, obviously not upset by his greeting t all. "Thank you dear."

"Gomen, gomen. This is my friend Yumi-chan." Yumi bows respectfully and takes a seat at the table.

"Hi. Thank you for all the snacks."

"Anytime, sweetie. I've heard so much about you! How does onigiri sound?"

Yumi perks up instantly and nods enthusiastically.

His family is peculiar. His father is overwhelmingly in love. His mother is beautiful in the ways that matter. And even this can't protect him from war. Because he is too talented to be left alone. Because although she hasn't seen it yet, she knows when he doesn't hold back, his eyes are the most captivating crimson.

So when she swallows her last bite of onigiri she demands Shisui stay and help his mom clean up. And she walks herself out. Because _maybe it's best not to get attached. Stay an outsider._ Part of her knew even then, how ridiculous those thoughts were...especially considering this was **Shisui**. But she was facing, for the first time in her life, distancing from the most important person in her life and didn't know why. _Am I not meant for lasting bonds?_

And when she walks out the main entrance without her companion, she is once again subject to the scornful gazes of older Uchiha. They talk of her inferiority, her plans of subterfuge, her manipulation.

"She needs to be put in her place." They mumble as she leaves.

* * *

A pained scream emerges from deep within the underground lab. It echoes closer, lingering apprehensively in the air.

It is dark and cold - not just in temperature, but also in its harsh edges and sterile, metallic textures. The only light comes from the soft, fluorescent glow of the human-sized glass chambers lining the walls. Children float inside only a few of them - most are newly empty save for the liquid.

Danzo walks the long hallway, not paying any mind to the tubes. He stops at the end of the hall.

"Orochimaru."

The pale, snake-like man doesn't turn to greet him. He deems his work far more important. _The insolence._

"Yesssss?" His tongue slithers out of his mouth, licking at his lips as he examines an eye on his lab table. Below it is a scroll with intricate kanji patterns extending to the edges of the paper.

"Are they ready?"

"They're dead." He says without remorse.

His voice takes on an edge - " **All** of them?"

Orochimaru's hands form a hand seal to activate the fuinjutsu on the scroll. For a moment, nothing happens. Until the eye suddenly starts to decompose. It squirms chaotically, then shrivels into dust.

"They were weak." He says obviously, while dusting off the scroll in disgust. "All so weak."

Danzo's hand clenches tighter around the grip of his cane.

"Then find the strong."

Orochimaru finally turns around. "I want the eyes."

"And you'll get them. Our paths desire the same ends, do not forget that."

Orochimaru turns away again, reaching for a jar on the shelf - the one with Yumi's hair. He delicately places the strands at the center of the scroll.

Forming the same hand seal, he activates it. And again, for a moment, nothing happens. Until the tendrils weave together in perfect circle on the paper.

Orochimaru watches with pleased fascination.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter should come soon...I split this one in two cause it was so long!


	13. He's Not Here

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

Mana gazes at Yumi's expression - her typical flat look, though not entirely devoid of emotion. _Who_ _is the Yumi she doesn't show me?_ Yumi suddenly turns to Mana, startling her - "What's wrong?"

 _And how the heck does she know these things!_

"I-it's nothing... Just thinking." _How do I tell her?_

"About Tomi?"

She nods. Well he is always on her mind, so it isn't untrue.

"He's gotten quite strong, ne?"

"Like _so_ manly, is that what you're saying? "

Mana hides her blush by fiercely kneading the dough on the wood counter. Yumi leans over to dust it with flour.

"W-well! He has grown taller recently a-and he trains every day... so..." Though Mana flusters immediately at Yumi's teasing, she's secretly relieved. _It's been awhile since Yumi has joked around._

"How observant of you Mana-chan. But I guess you are _always_ watching him." Yumi smirks.

Mana mashes the dough harder and harder into nothingness. She realizes with an alarmed -

"Oh no!" _I can't concentrate at all... I just need to tell her._

She wipes the flour off on her apron.

"Yumi-chan...I'm um..u-uh -" She'd practiced the conversation a million and one times in her head, but of course when she finally got down to it, all words dissipated into nothingness.

"What a way with words." Yumi helpfully chimes in.

Mana inhales therapeutically, then exhales.

With one more calming breath in, she quickly sputters out: "I'mjoiningtheacademy."

Yumi blinks. "What?"

"I'm joining the academy."

Yumi sets down the flour. "Why?"

"W-what do you mean why? To help the village?" She cringes as it comes out as a question.

"It doesn't suit you."

Mana instantly bristles, staring hard at the tiled floor. Her self-consciousness revealing itself.

"I may not be as strong as you or Tomi, but I'm not USELESS." She huffs.

Yumi sighs. Mana was too easy to rile up since Tomi left on his mission.

"You're not useless. But you like it here, right?" Yumi motions around the bakery.

 _I do. But..._

 _but..._

 _but I'm here. And Tomi is out there putting his life on the line every day._

 _...And I can't help him._

Tears prick at Mana's eyes. Yumi's brows furrow, confused at her friend's fluctuating emotions.

They sit in terse silence.

Mana releases a strained sob seeing that same damn flat look across Yumi's face.

It hit her like a piece of ice dropped into hot water - a large chasm splintering it to bits with a horrific crack. So clearly and intensely she understood that she could never truly know Yumi. Yumi was someone who simply did things because she wanted to. She would even refute her own nature and talents to do so, without a second thought. _I suppose since she never received anything coming into this life, she had to choose for herself._ An orphan with no home, no lineage, not even a name. _Is she even capable of really feeling? I've never seen her cry. I've never seen her fluster in self-consciousness. I've never seen her afraid - not of spiders or heights or even the hokage!_

 _How could I expect Yumi to understand..._

Mana's eyes never leave the floor as she chokes out -

"Baka... I **hate** it here."

 _I hate it here because_ _ **he's not here**_ _._

* * *

 _My first fight with Mana-chan._ She ambles restlessly on the dark road toward the orphanage. Biding her time, twisting and turning for a longer route. She was hardly emotional, but there was a fleeting drop in her stomach that made her want to keep walking.

Being so attune to chakra, she'd learned to neutralize her emotions and look at everything as objectively as possible. The more she experienced, the more she understood the necessity of doing so. People felt so much. And so erratically. If she were to give in to it all, it would surely consume her.

The gap between her and Mana would never fill. They would maneuver around it, but never close it. Not because of any notion of pride between the two. It was simply growing up. Realizing the irreconcilable differences that always existed. Mana hailed from a happy, civilian family - no ninja blood even in her distant cousin's cousin. She was fragile, loving, and so very romantic.

Yumi's eyes stay trained on the ground, watching moonlight shimmer against the stone path and dance with the soft shadows of tall buildings.

It's late enough that the town is asleep. Serene for the periodic late-night strollers lingering on the streets like herself.

"That's her, right?" A man's voice sounds from behind her. In her own thoughts, she doesn't pay it any attention.

"Yeah that's the brat." Another voice spits out.

A body flickers in front of her, a Cheshire grin across his face. Yumi glances up, quickly appraising him - 13, maybe 14-years-old. A ninja; obvious from his movement and his build. His hair is pulled into a tight top-bun, wearing the standard flak jacket with the Uchiha crest stitched to his shirt. _Chunin?_

Her eyes flicker to the side, taking note of the other behind her. He's shorter and yet radiates a stronger chakra signal. _Maybe fresh jonins? What do they want?_ Yumi's brow furrows in confusion.

"You think you can fool us? Learn our secrets by winning over one our own?"

She bristles - "I don't care. Go." _I don't have time for this._

"And now you try to tell us what to do?" They both circle closer, pulling out weapons. The top-bun Uchiha swiftly circles a kunai around his finger, faster and faster until he stops the blade in front of her face. She doesn't flinch.

"Fine then I'll leave." Yumi turns away, ready to depart a situation not worth her time.

He brusquely grabs her shoulder, holding her in place. "Not until we say." He forcibly turns her around. His finger traces lightly over her cheek, down to the top hem of her shirt. He licks his lips.

And it takes him completely by surprise when her tiny fist embeds itself in his stomach, sending him flying in a gust of wind. But he's more experienced than all of her training partners combined and he flips in mid-air, feet expertly pushing against the wall he's about to collide with.

"Oh you'll regret that brat." He wipes the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Her lip quirks into a crooked smile, because despite her utter disgust in them, she does love a challenge. And pummeling them to the ground would be a good outlet.

But when she glances back at the other, his eyes are lit in red. And she has never faced a sharingan before.

A searing pain spikes at her head. Her vision blurs. She's experienced genjutsu before, but **nothing** like this. Blackness takes over and bile builds up in her stomach. She can feel it trying to influence her, worming its way into every particle of her brain. So she feeds chakra into her mind, fortifying it as much as possible.

The top-bun Uchiha barks out - "Hurry up, immobilize her!"

"I-it's not working." The sharingan-wielding Uchiha replies. Surprise laced in his voice.

"Tch!" The top-bun Uchiha lands a punch at her stomach while she struggles to stay up-right. Yumi places her hands in a block, but is sent flying. She rolls across the ground to a stop.

She struggles up, adjusting to the effects of the sharingan. Though still unstable, her vision returns and she manages to stand.

"She's tough."

And when her eyes meet the sharingan again, she's prepared. She quickly builds a wall of chakra inside her mind. _That's nearly all of my chakra supply. I'll have to rely on taijutsu._

After meeting Danzo she had studied up on genjutsu and soon understood she had absolutely no talent in casting one herself. It was the one area of training that Mana actually excelled at over her. However, she could protect herself against it. Quite well.

The top-bun Uchiha blurs closer, moving to grab her neck. Yumi ducks, swinging her leg out across his ankles. His back hits the ground and she dives in for a punch. A kunai flies at her from behind, forcing her to miss and flip backward into a defensive position.

The sharingan-wielding Uchiha flickers in front of her. And she sees so clearly the vibrant red with one tomoe. His Kunai thrusts toward her face - a red cut forming across her cheek as she narrowly evades.

Her head still throbs, as if it's splitting from the inside out. _So this is the power of the sharingan. Incredible._ Even under the circumstances, she can't help but marvel at the power of a Dojutsu.

As his arm flies past her face, she grabs hold of his elbow and CRACK - breaks his arm with a brisk upward motion.

"AGHH! S-she broke my arm!" Though physically stronger, he seems to defer to the other. _The other one must be from a better family._

"It's your own fault you let your guard down around a kid! We can't let her disgrace us."

She pants loudly, muscles burning in protest at the over exertion. _From now on, I'm carrying weapons at all times._

She hears a melodic shink as the top-bun Uchiha unsheathing his sword.

"Won't go easy on you now."

She watches as both stalk closer to her, not even daring to blink.

She doesn't care for their ridiculous reasons for attacking her. She doesn't care for them. But she's overcome with a deep annoyance that she's cornered. That she's just a child against two men. That she is alone - more so now than ever before. But she steels herself, eyes hardened in determination.

She blurs behind the top-bun Uchiha just as his blade swings down upon air. She aims a kick at his back, but a barrage of shuriken flies at her from the other, skinning her arms and legs. The attack distracts her for a beat, giving the top-bun Uchiha an opening.

Two hands encircle her neck from behind, squeezing tighter and tighter. _Shit._

"You'll wish you hadn't fought back, brat." His voice spits out beside her ear.

Her legs kick and nails rake against the hands in desperation. The air rapidly drains from her lungs. Her already shaky condition, worsening.

 _Don't. Pass. Out._ But she can hardly help the lack of oxygen going to her brain.

Wind swirls around her in conflicting movements.

"What the hell?" Small gashes form across his hands from the slicing currents.

And right before she passes out she hears a sick CRACK of bone.

Kakashi's hand suddenly grips the man's wrist, breaking it instantly under his hold.

"AGHHHH!" He collapses with a pained scream, dropping Yumi. Kakashi's arms wrap around her before she hits the ground and he gently leans her back against a wall. She's unconscious, but breathing.

"Who the fuck -" When he looks up he sees pure killer intent in Kakashi's mismatched eyes. A rage that is so consuming it dulls the pain in his splintered wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kakashi demands. There's a tremor in his own voice, quaking in unadulterated anger.

"S-she was s-stealing from the clan."

And if Kakashi were a bigger man, he might let the fools run. But that option doesn't even cross his mind. He hardly registers as his fist collides with the man's face. Again. And again and again and again. Blood soaks onto the street, across his clothes and deep into his own skin.

He doesn't realize that the man is unconscious as he whispers a threat into his ear. **"Touch her and I'll kill you."** He doesn't know what he's saying, he doesn't know what he's thinking, he doesn't know what he's doing. He just hates hates hates anything and anyone that would hurt her.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much Dark Rose Charm for reviewing as always! Makes me happy ever time to see.


	14. Don't Misunderstand

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

She wakes to the rhythmic beat of her own heart. Wires extend from her chest and arms to a heart rate monitor beside her. Her eyes so very slowly blink open, adjusting to the soft morning light of dawn that is still too harsh for her swollen eyes. She can tell it's hardly past 6 am.

 _How long have I been out?_

There's a dull ache in the back of her head, but nothing unreasonable. As her senses return, she notices a bandage around her neck and a warmth in her palm. She wriggles her fingers only to find the movement blocked by something - or some _one_ rather.

Glancing down, she sees unruly black tufts of hair leaning against her hospital bed. Shisui's hand nestled in her own.

"Yumi?" His sleepy voice calls.

Upon realizing that he's not in a dream, his head bolts up - "Yumi!"

Shisui looks at her with a mixture of relief and disbelief. There are distinct bags under his eyes and his hair is mussed in all directions.

"Shisui? What are you doing here?" She's surprised by the sore croak of her voice.

She pulls her hand from his as she scoots to an upward sitting position. He doesn't miss a beat, grabbing her shoulder to help her then handing her a fresh glass of water. "Don't push yourself, please."

He bites his lip in uncharacteristic shyness.

"How long?"

"Three days." _So long. Must be the chakra exertion._

"Do you know what happened? I remember losing air and then... " Her voice trails off distantly as she tries to replay the fuzzy memories from that night. _Two Men. Sharingan. Fighting. Suffocating. And...and then what_? In the state that she was in, she couldn't be sure.

Shisui's fists clench at his side. His entire form is rigid. "Two jonin from my clan suspected you of espionage. They acted outside of orders and attacked you."

With a very pointed meaning, he looks her unflinchingly in the eye. Then deeply and formally bows.

"I APOLOGIZE ON BEHALF OF THE CLAN." Shisui holds his bow as they sit in silence. "I won't let them get away with what they did. I swear they won't hurt you again. On my life."

And she knows _he means it._

The morning light shifts color and tone around them as dawn turns to sunrise. And with its tranquility, her own thoughts shift as well. A small chuckle leaves her, building into a full laugh.

He blushes and lifts his head to see Yumi so openly blithe.

"Eh?"

She tries to calm her laughter, barely managing them into suppressed giggles. He's never seen her so child-like - and he certainly didn't anticipated the reaction considering the circumstance.

"Why are _you_ apologizing? I'm fine anyway." And she is. She cracks her neck to both sides. A bit sore, but nothing a bit of rest won't fix.

"You don't... hate me?" He mumbles the last part.

She blinks at his genuine concern. _I've underestimated him. In so many ways._

"Can't get rid of me that easily." She throws back at him (A/N: ch11).

He throws himself onto her in a full hug that knocks the air out of her. "Uwaaa I was so worried!"

She had thought to put some distance between herself and the Uchiha. He seemed like just another loose acquaintance that she wasn't sure she could keep... everyone around her was at that age of change and growth and learning to be who they really are. _And as they become the person they're supposed to be, there's no place left for me._ Drifting apart.

And besides, as an Uchiha trouble was never far behind.

 _I was wrong._

Shisui, she could so clearly see, was a friend worth keeping. And so she would.

She was actually thankful for the two idiots who attacked her. A reminder that she didn't care about such things. She had always done what she wanted regardless of what others might say or normal governances. _Was I really so mopy I started deferring to what was easiest?_

She prided herself on being uncomplicated - deciding to do something and doing it. And so she would befriend Shisui so thoroughly that she would never again think of him as the Uchiha boy she practiced with, but SHISUI. Just Shisui.

"You're heavy."

He jumps off and scratches the back of his head."Gomen, gomen."

She thrusts her hand out. "Where's my get-well gift?"

"Ah...um, you've been asleep for three days so I had to eat it, haha." He avoids her eyes, finding something just **so** interesting out the window.

She feigns intense disappointment. "After all I've been through... not even gyuhi mochi, zaru soba, or beef sukiyaki here for me..."

He sweatdrops. "How oddly specific." Nonetheless, he bolts up with the zeal of a ninja on a mission. "BUT it just so happens I was on my way to pick that up from -"

"Tsuchi's Restaurant" She grins up at him cheekily.

He smiles. "Tsuchi's. Exactly."

She waves as he dashes out the room. She waits until his chakra signal reads from outside the hospital, then tugs out all the wiring.

As she stands, a small wave of nausea overcomes her with the sudden rush of blood to her head. She slowly shuffles to the window and slides it open.

Instantaneous calm hits her. Wind.

She hears its voice whispering in her ear.

It wants to take her far away.

 _I want to soar._

* * *

 _Would she still love me if I hadn't been in the hospital that day? Would I mean as much to her as I do now?_

He looks up at Konoha Hospital - from five blocks away. With Yumi's sensor abilities he knows she can pin-point him all too easily, so he weighs his choice from a distance.

News of what happened had only spread to a select few. The Uchiha were all too quick to hush it up - a disgrace on their record as leaders in the village. Minato was of course given notice to his...moment of instability. And from Minato came Rin.

Rin's advice echoes in his mind.

"Kakashi-kun... I won't force you to go see her. But whatever's going on, she deserves to know, right? At least tell her why you've been avoiding her - and yes, I have noticed. I know she's not very 'typical' for her age, but there are still many things she won't understand. Don't let her misunderstand _you_."

She was right, of course. Rin was nothing short of compassionate. She could so easily see things from everyone's point-of-view - always searching for the reason on the other side, never looking to judge.

His eyes bore into the building even more intensely, but his feet stay planted on the ground.

 _Why am I always afraid when it comes to her?_

And before his mind is fully made up, he takes a step forward. It's not Rin's wise words or his own reasoning that ultimately decide. It's pure instinct. Something within his entire being that **needs** him to move.

And with each step he feels the breeze walk beside him.

Before he knows it, he stands just outside her door, hand raised to knock -

"Come in." She calls from the other side, because _of course she knows._

He slides open the door to see Yumi perched in the window sill, dangling her legs from over four stories high. He sees the cut on her cheek, the bruising on her neck, and a red fury burns at his chest. The wind swirls around him - as if reacting to his mood - and he forces those feelings down.

Everyone who saw them together wondered what their relationship really was. He was older, but not at all close to being a father figure. They were so much more than simple friends that such a label fell short of truth. Kakashi himself didn't truly know how to describe it, but he also didn't care to try. Besides, it wasn't for anyone else beside himself and Yumi.

"Yumi-chan." He forces a monotone statement. Inside, he's so very afraid.

But her arms lift openly toward him and he doesn't miss a beat. He blurs in front of her, scooping her into a hug. Her tiny limbs tremble in his hold. _Or is it me?_

"Were you scared?"

She shakes her head 'no' and buries her face into his chest.

He smiles. _Still so fearless._

"I didn't think you'd come." It stings to hear, but that had been his intention.

"Me neither." He answers honestly.

"Come again." She doesn't mean the hospital. And in Yumi fashion, she doesn't ask.

"Yeah." She lifts her gaze to look at him. His heart flutters at her intensity. He swallows and - "You know my father was a world-renowned ninja." He never talks of his family to anyone, but _Yumi is always the exception_. "The White Fang." The name sounds foreign across his tongue.

"Since I could crawl, I trained to be a ninja. I held a kunai before a brush. It's in my blood. And I'll commit my life to this village." Their eyes never leave the others'. Flecks of _a beautiful gold_ glimmer in her eyes. _Have they gotten lighter?_

She frowns _-_ _even so she's mesmerizing._

"I'm on a path that's moving so differently from yours." It's true. In his mind, he imagines the lines of their lives splitting - his not only angling off, but also speeding away. At the time, he couldn't fathom how those lines could split and twist and turn and overlap as life does in funny, unpredictable ways.

Her mouth presses into a line, but she stays silent.

"You can be anything you choose to be, but I am and always will be, a ninja." There was no doubt in anyone's mind.

As horrible as it was, a small, ugly piece of him envied her. She started on a blank slate and she knew herself so immensely as a child. Even before he was born, he had his father's legends to shadow behind.

"I hurt, I manipulate, I **kill**. I can't - I'm not...I'm not good for you to be around." _If she knew what I've done, what I'm capable of doing, she'd hate me_.

"Tch. You are." Her face scrunches in frustration. He ruffles her hair fondly.

"I was wrong to avoid you." He blushes. His senses are on high alert for eaves-droppers, but it still embarrasses him to admit out loud and while still holding her so closely. "But I need to focus on getting stronger. Protecting you and the village as my duty."

She loathes what he's saying, but how can she refute it? He was on the only path he believed existed for him. And SHE was the one who chose another, wasn't she? She thinks of Danzo. His offer. And the thought wouldn't leave her.

She doesn't have anything to argue against him with, so she relies on the one thing she's always had with him. Her hand lifts to his cheek and he leans into it, closing his eyes. She feels his confliction and turmoil and all she can do is hope that her equanimity can ground him.

"No matter what happens, just come home." To her.

And in the end of it all - though all the convoluted detours of life he had yet to face; All the mistakes, the victories, the pain, the joy - he would.

* * *

A/N: Wow this was such a talk-about-our-feelings sort of chapter. What do you think Yumi looks like? Would love to see links! I have a few pictures from the interweb I may link to. She's quite young now though and a lot of chapters down the line there will be a large time-skip! No one can stay young forever. Sadly...


	15. The Academy

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

She was up and about again before anyone else had the chance to visit her. Mana of course, had no idea she was ever even in the hospital. Yumi would never apologize for speaking her truth, but she did voice her support for Mana's choice to join the academy - and that was enough for now.

Kakashi resumed a place in her world, albeit smaller and at arm's length. But she would appreciate even the small moments. A home-cooked dinner on the first night of his return from a mission. A hand-in-hand walk through a field erupting in fireflies. Sunrise at the top of Hokage rock - that was easily her favorite. The simple things.

A heavy stream of fire shoots across the surface of the lake. All-consuming and blinding - the heat licking so fiercely it bathes them in both dry air and moist skin.

Shisui's breath lets up and the fire suddenly abates to a steam. He turns to Yumi, whose hands are planted against his back. Their wide eyes meet and -

"WE DID IT!" They shout simultaneously, jumping around in unrepressed joy.

"And did you notice how -"

"Yeah, and right when you did the serpent sign -"

"I was only using 70% power -"

"Uh-huh, but the result was -"

"Amazing, right?" Shisui smiles brightly. Yumi meets it with equal fervor.

"Mm."

After relentless study of the chakra paths within the human body on Yumi's part and the reckless expenditure of chakra on Shisui's part, they finally managed to exponentially improve his performance of Fireball Jutsu. The Hyuuga Clan's scrolls on chakra pathways were pivotal to her studies, but they were beyond stingy with their knowledge and she only had a couple general books to work from. Everything else was trial-and-error.

Which it turns out, was for the best. All the books she rifled through used knowledge of chakra pathways in order to **damage** the opponent. _But she wants to use them to maximize potential._

In the path of his jutsu there was literally a thread-thin moment of disruption - something he would never notice. The human body has natural imperfections and the irregularity of chakra pathways falls into that same pattern. It can be compensated for with simple muscle-memory as long as Shisui knows exactly where the mishap is occurring - and now he does. By placing her hands on his body, she forcefully manipulated his chakra to bypass the disruption at the precise moment. Knowing Shisui, he would no longer need her to do so with similar effect by the end of the month.

Shisui glances at Yumi with open wonder. _My Fireball Jutsu was already perfected by Uchiha standards, but she managed to bring out an entirely new level._

With a twinkle of excitement in her eye, she asks, " Again? You know there's still other ways to improve."

"Why don't you give it a shot?"

She plants him with a blank, completely disinterested look.

"You've watched me do this hundreds of times, don't tell me you still haven't memorized the hand-signs?" Shisui teases, knowing _she can't resist a good challenge._

"Pfft. Watch and learn."

She forms the hand signs much slower, concentrating on each minute detail and movement within her.

"Fireball Jutsu!"

Instead of one powerful blast, the fire moves in an endless swirls of wind. A riveting mix of red that stretches far across the lake as if it will never cease. It's the same jutsu he knows, yet somehow, different. _So very Yumi._

Shisui's eyes take in the spectacle. _Beautiful._ And almost artistic. She gives everything to it, swirling higher and further with the wind. _So this is how someone outside of the clan can use the jutsu._

Yumi turns to him with a confident smirk. "How was that?"

"Ehhh, I've seen better." He shrugs, hiding his smile with a turn.

By the end of that winter, Shisui would cement his place as the greatest constant in her daily life.

* * *

A city of the rich. Elegantly subdued conversations, vibrant textiles, and intricately-crafted treats on the surface. Women in heavy kimonos and even heavier hair ensembles.

Rin, Kakashi, and Gai had finished their mission two days ago and were en route home. It was rare for a city like this to go relatively untouched by war, but where there's money, there's a way - evidently. Paying off all sides for security was well worth it to enjoy this sort of peace.

Rin watches Kakashi glance at the booths - trying to do so unnoticed. "Are you looking for something Kakashi?"

He stiffly turns away. "Not really."

She giggles, not falling for it for one second. She grabs Gai's hand. "Ne, Gai-kun, let's go check out the food stalls over there?"

"YES WHAT A MARVELOUS IDEA, HOW YOUTHFUL!"

Kakashi lets out a breath as Gai pulls Rin to the other side of the market.

He scans row after row and while everything is exceedingly pretty, it's not HER.

 _What would it be like to see a new place with her? Hear a new sound? Smell a new smell? Taste a new taste?_

He shakes his head of his over-sentimentality. And at that moment sees a stand that differs from all the others. It's bare of ornamentation and being bypassed by all the fine ladies on the road. An old, but well-muscled man sits behind the counter. Like the store, his outfit is plain and well-worn.

Kakashi makes his way through the traffic to stand in front of the stall.

"You're not from around here, huh kid?"

Suspicious - "Does it matter?"

The old man laughs. "No need to be so tight-lipped. Every culture has their own aesthetic preference. It'll help me narrow down what you may be looking for."

 _What would she be looking for? She doesn't own any jewelry that I know of. And she's dressed in hand-me-down t-shirts from the orphanage as long as I can remember._

"Um it's a gift. I don't know what she'd like, she's not one for jewelry."

"Well that already tells me something about her. She'll like something she won't notice - nothing heavy, nothing gaudy. Practical to wear every day, so sturdy. That sound about right?"

Kakashi nods, somewhat amazed.

"What's she enjoy in her free time? What kind of person is she? Tell me anything and I'm sure I've got the right piece for you."

Without missing a beat - "She enjoys learning - absorbing everything with insatiable curiosity. She's blunt with absolutely no social tact. She enjoys eating, but mostly when it's on someone else's dime. When she smiles it's usually in mischief. When she laughs it's always mixed with surprised wonder. More than anything, she feels like a soft breeze, not calling for attention, just wrapping the world in a warm calm." He gets lost in his own words - Yumi's image playing so vividly in his mind. When he looks up, the old man has a knowing smile plastered across his face. Kakashi thanks the heavens that no one he knows heard what he said.

"That's more than enough, I've got just the thing."

* * *

The path is swarmed with kids and parents - a loud babble of excitement in the air. Yumi and Mana are just two more kids in the crowd on their way to the academy.

Yumi watches Mana fidget awkwardly in her new outfit - swapping out her normal frilly dress for pants and a floral blouse. Even with the feminine pattern, she feels drab and uncomfortable.

"You look cute, Mana-chan."

"T-that's not true."

But it is. Boys are already sneaking quick glances at the pretty girl with the perfect blond curls.

"Tomi would be jealous."

Mana blushes. "EHH!? Of what?"

"Oh nothing."

They stop at the entrance of the academy. Yumi spots Shisui walking through the front door, already deep in conversation with his peers who are all vying for the attention of the supposed genius Uchiha. She snickers as two older girls link arms with him. _Maybe the academy is more interesting than I thought._

"What are you looking at Yumi-chan?"

"Just checking out your competition."

"T-there not my competition! My classmates." Mana looks around, worried someone's overheard.

"...Just kidding Mana-chan. Are you ready?"

"Hai! Thanks for walking me on my first day Yumi-chan."

And just as Mana turns to leave - "Mana-chan. You are strong, you know." Mana blushes at the rare compliment.

"Thanks Yumi-chan." She smiles brightly and runs inside with her peers.

 _The ninja life will never suit her -_ that's true. Mana will never be like most ninja. She wears her heart on her sleeve. But _she made her own choice and stuck to it, whatever the reason._

Yumi waits there long after Mana's disappeared.

When the door closes after the last child, she has a sinking feeling that she'll never be able to open it again.

 _The choice that Kashi-kun made. With Rin, Obito, Tomi, Mana, Shisui, Gai, Minato, Kushina..._ the list is endless.

She tears her eyes from the building and walks briskly away. She walks and walks and walks, finding herself at the orphanage. No matter how many times she treads this dirt path, she'll never want to.

The newest warden - Kimiko - waves excitedly at Yumi. Her dirty-blonde hair is cut in a bob to her shoulder and she's dressed in a simple black and white robe. She hails from an upper-class family of architects - the fourth child of nine. Growing up in a big family, she has always wanted to help children.

"Yumi-chan I've been looking all over for you! You weren't in your room last night or this morning."

"That is true."

"Oh Yumi-chan, I was so worried!" Yumi liked her in a neutral sense, but Kimiko had yet to understand her habits in the slightest.

Kimiko grabs her hand and drags her inside. "And I have a surprise for you - here." Kimiko hands her a slim folder sitting on her desk.

Yumi opens it to see the profiles of the Yagaki Family. Husband. Wife. Late 40s. Tea Country. Small business owners. **No children.**

Yumi stares at the picture of the couple in silence.

"They want to adopt you. It's a very rare chance to go somewhere on the outskirts of this terrible war."

"Why ME?"

Kimiko nervously plays with the tips of her hair. "Well... they want to adopt a child that doesn't quite...fit in here. Someone that they could truly give a home to."

"So they want to **fix** a troubled child, like me, right?" _I should want this._

Kimiko's hands wave defensively in front of her - "No no no no it's not like that. They just want to help. Really they are very kind. And they travel a lot for work and you know you always seem to wander off on your own. It seems like a great match, Yumi-chan. Give it some more thought, ne? They'll be back in Konoha in a few months." _But why do I feel so angry?_

Yumi grabs the folder and nods. Then swiftly flickers out of sight.

* * *

Rikuto glances over his shoulder and watches her sit on a tall stack of books on molecular structure, completely still and eyes closed. Her hands are held in the tori (bird) seal position.

He had an inkling to what she was attempting, but she had an interesting mind for science application in the ninja arts that he'd never seen before. _Maybe because she didn't consider herself a ninja_ and therefore, never applied chakra in the standard means that were expected.

 _She needs to be careful._

Because if she's not, she won't go unnoticed for long.

"Yumi-chan, neeee~ Aren't you supposed to be my little helper?" Riktuo prods annoyingly from the side.

Today she was exceptionally quiet. _I wonder what happened._

Rikuto throws a wad of crumpled paper at her head. When it reaches within a foot of her, it uncrumples in the air. In the blink of an eye, it's a pristine piece of paper that floats down onto her book.

His eyes widen. She's still as stone. The air around her seemingly stagnant as well - _to have the precision to control the air without a detectable current and for an intricate motion, not just cutting at an opponent..._

Dangerous. Very dangerous in the wrong hands.

"Yumi-chan, promise me you won't do this around other people."

She doesn't respond, but somehow he knows she's listening.

* * *

A/N: So many things needed to happen this chapter to lead into next chapter. Things will ramp up soon I promise.


	16. Best Friends

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

It smells of one too many bodies stuffed in a room. It is a way-station, not a home.

A shrill wail of a baby echoes from down the hall - easily surpassing the cheap, thin walls. Her eyes shoot open. With a turn to the left she sees seven other kids still sleeping soundly. Her bed is pushed to the far corner of the room, against the window overlooking the forest.

She's rarely here in summer, but when the weather cools she's forced to spend more nights in this bed that isn't hers. _At least I have a bed._ Some children shared three to one tiny bed. The first (and only) time a warden had ordered her to share a cot it was with two older girls that constantly jeered at her for her dirty clothes and tangled hair - the aftermath of adventuring with Shisui. Yumi would typically walk straight past them - what did she care? They held no place in her life and she would keep it that way.

So Yumi had gripped the iron frame of the bed, bending it into the shape of her palm. The whole room was deathly silent. With the same hand, she lifted the bed and dropped it into the far window-corner. "No." She said with a frosty glare.

There was a distinct shift in behavior after the incident.

"Strange." They had always called her that.

"Selfish." She would be the last to deny it.

"Cruel." Well, that was a new one.

She gazes at the distance between her and the other beds, then out the window at the crisp, early morning air. Darkness still blankets the world. She slips away - unnoticed and unmissed.

Her feet silently hop to ground. She exhales in a light fog. _It's cold._

She sniffles, glancing back at the warmth of indoors. _Well, it's not too bad._

She flickers into the trees. Jumping higher and higher until she's overlooking all the other trees.

She closes her eyes, listening patiently.

It wants her to fly far away - she doesn't know where - just _follow_.

Her hands form the tori sign and instantly her senses expand across konoha. Like a drop into water, rippling and spreading. She feels structures and objects - lifeless things - very similarly. Just a blank obstruction, no details, no color, no separation. Living objects are easy to detect in the wind - they are constantly breathing and shifting and disturbing the atmosphere. And paired with her chakra sight, it was quite a powerful tool.

So far she could stretch her net 30 feet around her. Seeing the world and everything that occurred within her radius was easy. The hard part was **controlling** the wind in her area. A simple breeze from the north or a fine-tuned shift of a single strand of hair. Precision would take time.

The village sleeps, the sun waits, and she draws closer to the wind.

* * *

Rin knows he loves her.

She watches as Kakashi expertly sears a fish on the stove. His movements are precise and thoughtful - how they are in combat. In the corner of his eye he simultaneously prepares the rice, side dishes, and another round of hot tea.

"Can I help you, Kakashi-kun?"

"No, I got it."

His eyes don't glance her way, so she fumbles with her tea cup, waiting patiently for dinner. Yumi patters out from Kakashi's bedroom after a quick nap. _Her chakra levels have been low every day since we've been back._ The medic in her worries - a child abusing her chakra at a young age could lead to permanent developmental issues.

Yumi walks into the kitchen and without asking, swings open the refrigerator and pulls out two packets of tofu.

"I want agedashi tofu." She quickly draws out all the ingredients from various cupboards with a peacefulness that says _she belongs here._

"Hai, hai." Kakashi pulls out a foot stool for Yumi to stand on so she can easily work on the counter.

Kakashi delicately plates the first fish, then wipes his hands across his apron. He pulls out a package from his back pocket and places it on the counter beside Yumi.

"I saw this on the way home." He instantly returns to searing the second fish, acting as if it's nothing - "It's nothing big."

Yumi tilts her head curiously and unwraps it. A pair of perfect stud earrings - a translucent blue with textured wisps of white inside that seem to move as she turns it in the light.

She smiles - "Pretty."

Kakashi smiles - "They're made of a rare stone found only in the Land of Wind."

"But Kashi-kun, I don't have my ears pierced."

He flushes. "I know that."

Rin laughs, breaking them from their reverie - "I can pierce your ears for you when we get back from our next mission. How does that sound?"

Yumi pulls at her earlobes. "Does it hurt?"

"It's like a quick pinch."

"Can I do yours too?"

Rin hesitates, "Should you really be handling needles?"

Yumi puffs up her cheeks in a pout. "I'll just copy you."

"Okay, okay. You can do mine."

Kakashi places the garnished fish on the table. "You don't have to give in to her demands Rin."

Yumi walks over and places the tofu in the center of the table.

"It's alright, a little spoiling here or there never hurts." Rin leans over to brush the knots out of Yumi's bed-head.

Yumi affectionately leans in to Rin's touch. " _I'm_ Rin's favorite."

Kakashi scoffs incredulously.

Rin knows he loves her - just not the way she wants him to.

* * *

Shisui speeds through the trees - he's always been fast, but everyone can tell even at this age, that his speed will be remarkable.

He slows his pace to allow Yumi to track beside him.

Their skills were growing further apart. Naturally so as she wasn't training as he was. With the academy and additional lessons at the compound, the elder members of the clan hoped he would graduate in one more year.

"Did you see them off this morning?"

"Mm." She answers.

 _She's always quieter on the days they leave. Always glancing in their direction._

He takes a swing at her, mid-run. She dodges.

"You'll have to do better than that." She blurs away, then reappears behind him.

"Of course." He blocks her punch and a spar ensues. But he soon gains the advantage, pinning her to the ground.

"You've gotten faster." She huffs, blowing the hair out of her face. Though she's not upset, there is a noticeable tinge of frustration edging her voice.

He smiles widely. "Yeah. You're ninjutsu is still better than mine though."

She smiles. "Maybe not for long. Academy practice is doing well for you. And you've made tons of new friends to spar with, soon you won't need me."

He laughs, helping her up from the ground. "No way. Who else could perfect my ninjutsu and eat all my food?"

She blinks, staring at him deeply.

"You're my best friend."

His jaw drops. Yumi isn't one for sentimentalities. Or even **niceties** , to be honest.

"It's not _that_ shocking. You should know already."

"You're my best friend too!" Shisui jumps up enthusiastically. His cheeks hold a hint of pink.

"Of course." She states, easily understanding her claim on his life.

He smiles. That classic Shisui smile. Kind. Unwavering. And so blindingly radiant.

And she can't help but lean in closer. Their eyes locked onto one another. Her hand reaching for him slowly...

And POKE.

He looks at her shocked.

"Did you just _poke_ me?" He rubs his forehead.

"You looked too damn smug."

He laughs. Of course she wouldn't let him have one tender moment.

* * *

A/N: WOW it's been so long since the last chapter. Life was so unbelievably busy.


	17. Promises

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

 _I don't like this._

She had gotten in the pattern of checking on Kakashi and Rin's chakra signals periodically when they were on a mission. Minor spikes in chakra or lower levels were common, but never severe enough to warrant any worries.

But this time their chakras are scattered - _for seven days._ Three days she could dismiss as a tactic, but any more than that was either stupidity or bad news, and they were far from careless. There was a reason the three-man squad was put into place.

She doesn't like this at all, _but what can I do besides wait?_ And she'd been waiting there, beside the gates of Konoha, staring across the horizon toward their location for three days. She had slept only briefly and woken with her senses still tingling, seeking out her friends.

Yumi perks up as Rin's chakra spikes, then quietly settles. Yumi's eyes narrow. Rin's chakra had changed - drastically. Chakra ripples around Rin in a powerful torrent. _Water. It looks like water._ _It reminds me of Kushina._

 _What does it mean?_

"YUMI-CHAN!" Mana yells from below her. Yumi turns down from her perch in the tree. "Tomi - H-he's in the hospital. We need to see him."

Yumi blinks - locating and reading his chakra signal within the second. "He's okay, don't worry Mana-chan."

Anger colors Mana's face.

"He's in the hospital, passed out since **two days ago**. He's not okay! His whole team is in critical condition."

But Yumi knows he will undoubtedly be okay - chakra doesn't lie. "I know. I saw them pass through the gates this morning."

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

"He **is** okay. They'll all be okay."

Mana's eyes widen. "Did you hear what I just said? You're not a doctor." She glares at her. "You're not even a ninja. Do you even care?"

"I do, but I don't have time for this."

Mana smiles mirthlessly - "Of course you don't have time for him. You're off playing with your new, important friends. Learning things that you won't even use to help anyone but yourself."

On a better day, Mana would never have said - let alone thought - those spiteful words.

Mana turns and runs without another word.

On a better day, Yumi would have gone after her.

But today, she closes her eyes and once again stretches her senses far beyond Konoha.

* * *

 _I promised._

He quickly slices at the rope restraining Rin and she falls limply into his arms - eyes glazed over, unseeing.

"RELEASE." He forces chakra into her, disrupting the genjutsu. Rin's eyes bolt open. She looks around wildly, quickly coming out of her confusion as she focuses in on Kakashi.

"Kakashi-kun?"

"Rin, we have to go now." She nods with sharp eyes, re-attuned to the situation.

He gently helps her up.

Kakashi's pack of ninken look deeper into the cave. The tiny pug on top noticing a shift in the vibrations of the ground - "They're coming."

"Let's go!"

Rin leaps through the exit and Kakashi follows after.

* * *

Yumi sighs, muscles relaxing.

Kakashi and Rin had reunited. _They'll be fine together._

She stretches out her neck and shoulders with a crack, then hops down onto the pavement.

 _I'll keep an eye out for a little while longer - just in case._

Two masked men watch Yumi walk further from the gates of Konoha. One is hidden in an alley, the other is hidden in the rooftops. Chakras suppressed to muted levels.

On a better day, she would notice them.

* * *

 _I promised._

"I feel it - there's **something** inside of me. You have to kill me now!" Rin screams at him.

"What are you saying?!" _I could never. I would never. I promised._

"They're using me to attack Konoha." Her eyes fill with determination.

 _I'll find a way._

But they're already surrounded by Kiri-nin. Days without sleep. Days using up all their chakra reserves without time to replenish. And days filled with worry over the other were taking their toll.

"Rin, get behind me."

She doesn't.

He doesn't have time to think about why. He doesn't have the luxury of hesitation. Hesitation gets you killed.

His hands blur in a sequence of familiar signs and razor sharp blue lightning erupts. It crackles to life and he charges at the enemy.

He thrusts his fist forward - "CHIDORI!"

Rin suddenly blurs in front of him.

He feels her before he sees her.

The cracking of her ribcage under the force of his blow.

The wet warmth of her blood coating his arm.

"..Ka...Kakashi..."

 _I promised._

The world turns black as he collapses. And in that sliver of time before he loses complete consciousness, he's so very afraid. Afraid of waking up and finding out this is all real. He wishes he could sleep forever. Just like Rin.

* * *

Yumi's teeth grind painfully against each other. Her fist clenches and eyes widen. She pivots sharply back toward the entrance as the wind picks up around her.

 _GONE. HER SIGNAL IS GONE._

It felt so insignificant, like the breeze gently extinguishing a candle on the windowsill. So easy to snuff out a life.

She rushes to the gates, searching for someone - anyone - that can help. The ninja on guard relaxes at his post.

"Send help, Kakashi and Rin - they need help."

He sits forward nonchalantly.

"What are you talking about kid?"

She feels a pressure inside her grow.

"They're in trouble. Someone needs to go. NOW."

Confusion crosses his face - "How would you know that? Look kid I don't have time for this, okay? Go play somewhere else."

"PLEASE, my friends Kakashi and Rin went on a mission and they were separated and now she's hurt and they need help. We need to send help!"

The wind picks up around her and the leaves dance across the ground in circles.

"Look, I get that you're worried about your friends, but Kakashi isn't expected back for a few more days."

And she's so frustrated and so worried and _someone needs to do_ _ **something**_. The pressure inside her builds.

"If you won't do anything, then I'll go after them." She pushes past him.

He grabs her arm - "Oi, kid, this isn't some game. They're on a very important mission."

"Let go of me." The wind licks harshly against him. She pulls away harder, but his grip only tightens.

"Where are your parents? They're probably worried about you." Shallow slices form across his arms as the wind.

"Let go."

And the pressure pushes out against her chest. And she doesn't understand what it means. And she doesn't care because all she wants is to go to them.

"Calm down kid, let's get you home okay?"

"I said. Let. GO."

And the pressure explodes.

The wind swirls and cuts and SCREAMS.

And the guard falls backward, cowering with his arms around his head. The wind cuts deeply across his entire body. Trees fly upward - completely uprooted. The large green gates of Konoha slam against the wall, one door pulled completely off its hinges.

And Yumi doesn't see any of the destruction.

All she sees is Kakashi's chakra signal.

She doesn't see when the two masked ANBU blur behind her. Blood seeps through their clothes as the wind gashes across their chests.

And just as she steps forward to run to Kakashi, the ANBU knock her out cold.

Even in her dreams, all she sees is him.

A/N: I've just been lagging on this chapter because it marks a distinctive turning point in their lives. And thus they begin to change...


	18. Forbidden Seal

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

Stale.

She wakes to the smell of rot and filth and darkness. The air hovers like death.

"Kashi-kun..." she mumbles - surprised by the dry croak in her own voice. She senses him easily, as she always does. He's alive. Safe. Minato and Kushina are beside him.

She moves to get up, feeling a soreness in every part of her body.

 _How did I get here? What happened?_

"She's awake." A voice hisses from her right.

Her eyes glance in his direction, but she already knows there are three others in the room. All of whom she's met before. _Anbu. And Danzo._

"You caused quite a scene." Danzo steps out from the darkness. "An innocent man is in the hospital because of you."

 _I hurt someone?_

Her eyes lower in shame as she vaguely recalls desperately trying to leave, someone stopping her, losing control. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I just..."

"You wished to protect your friend." She looks up in surprise, meeting Danzo straight in the eye. "And now she's dead."

 _I know_. She bites her lip, drawing blood, trying to distract from the throbbing in her chest.

"And you did nothing."

 _I know_. Yumi's arms curl around herself, trying to mute her shaking. Her eyes screw shut as another vicious wave racks her body.

"I - I wanted to, but no one would listen and - "

"And why should they listen to _you_." He sneers.

 _He's right..._

 _It's my own fault. I couldn't do anything because I'm_ _ **weak**_ _. Because I'm an outsider to their world. Because I turned my back on them._

Every time her friends left on a mission she took their lives for granted. Naively assuming they'd be back.

A slight wind swirls around her, shielding her. Danzo watches in fascination as it slices powerfully - and so cleanly - into the stone beneath her.

"What do you want child?"

She sees Rin's smiling face so clearly in her memory. She sees her friends entering the academy. She sees them disappear, one-by-one, like a smoke spreading into nothing.

 _I can't let it happen again. Kashi-kun..._

She opens her eyes with a fierce determination. Her trembles cease.

"I want to protect them."

He smiles as the wind cuts the stone under her grip.

"I can give you the power you need. The control. The position. But everything comes at a cost."

"...I'll do anything."

Danzo motions for someone. Gold eyes meet her own as Orochimaru steps out of the darkness. He circles around her, like a predator.

"Then you will be no one." Danzo says.

"No one?"

"You have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. You are the Roots that grow in the dark."

 _Root. If that's what it takes, then I will be no one._

Orochimaru's finger traces along her cheek, to her shoulder. "Will you accept the seal?"

She nods.

Orochimaru's hand grabs hers, then immediately slices a gash on her palm. He lifts her hand up, allowing the blood to drip onto his tongue. It sizzles briefly and he licks his lips.

His fangs sharpen and he leans in to her neck.

She feels a slight pinch as his fags sink deeper into her shoulder.

Then suddenly, a searing pain singes her back.

She screams.

His white hands lift to form a series of intricate hand signs.

"Forbidden Seal of Submission."

The world flashes to white.

* * *

She drifts in and out of consciousness - she doesn't know for how long. Days, months, years, she loses track of any sense of time. She's underground, somewhere. It's dark and cold.

And all she knows is pain.

Sometimes she hears voices, or movement, but everything is a haze.

Her body is so weak.

She burns, as if sweating out a virus.

"Will she live?" she vaguely hears Danzo's voice from somewhere in the room, but she's too frail to pin-point even that.

She dips into unconsciousness before she can hear the answer.

She replays small memories again and again and again to ground herself in something. Swimming through underwater tunnels with Shisui. Beautiful emerald, glimmers all around them. His warm laugh... Braiding Kashi-kun's nest of hair while he reads a tactical book. The surprising softness as she pulls roughly at it and the scolding look he sent her when she did so...Sipping iced-tea with Mana-chan on her parent's balcony on a hot summer day... Rifling through junk yards with Rikuto-san to collect spare parts for his next gadget... Feeling the wind across her skin...

The next time her eyes open, it will still be dark.

The pain will still burn.

But as weak as she is now, each day she will grow stronger.

And one day, far in the future, she will be strong enough to do exactly as she pleases.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter is a Kakashi chapter!


	19. Friend Killer

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

A light drizzle wets his skin. It melts slowly into the fabric of his uniform, turning the flak vest a muddy grey.

And with tired eyes he listlessly kneels, placing a bouquet of white lilies beside a gravestone that reads: NOHARA RIN. The grave is well cared for - no weeds and a dewy glisten across the stone.

He gazes at it for a long time, saying nothing. The drizzle thickens to a light rain, but he hardly notices.

Wake up. Visit the memorial stone. Rin's s grave. Eat. Train. Sleep.

Repeat.

He felt like a machine, just one gear after the other turning to perform its duty. Only to do it once more with no end in sight. And then on the other side of it, he felt so immeasurably human. As if even the slightest pause would cause the whole facade to crumble.

After all his conceit about his own talents, all he thinks is -

 _I'm a failure._

But even on days where it feels too painful to wake, he does.

 _Because I live and they don't._

And they deserve that much at least.

There were moments where torment seemed to stretch on for eternity. But then he'd look up and see that the leaves had changed and months, even years, had passed.

Grief is a tricky little thing.

And by the time he wakes from it, Yumi is long gone.

* * *

It's Rin's birthday today. The first since she's passed. Almost a full year came and went, and yet the memory of her death plays in his mind as clearly as ever.

He shakes his head - "Stop it." On every birthday, Rin asked that they accompany her for the whole day - that was all. Yumi would run and jump on his back, then shout out a number of crazy ideas for their day. And Rin would indulge her as they all did. On past occasions they hiked, took a paint class, volunteered at an animal shelter, hitched a ride to a random place outside of Konoha's gates, watched a play. No matter the activity, they always smiled.

Kakashi lights incense by her picture over his bed. "Happy Birthday, Rin-chan."

He moves to the window, unlocking it. It's been a long time since Yumi's last visit, but a part of him expects her to climb through the window at any moment. She was always the first to drag them out of bed on Rin's birthday - an excuse to bring them together for something non-ninja related.

 _Has she heard the rumors? Does she hate me now, too? Is that why she's been avoiding me?_

"Friend-Killer Kakashi". That's what they call him.

 _They're not wrong._

He was afraid that Yumi would think the same. That she'd see who as he really is, finally, after all these years of loving him unconditionally. She looked at him as if he were special, important, perfect. And he didn't know how to tell her, he was nothing of the sort.

The window slams open with a bang and he swivels hard toward the noise, more anxious than he'd ever admit.

But it's just the wind, blowing open the unlatched window.

"She's not coming..." He says in a whisper.

He moves to close the window before the winter chill can get in when he feels the wind lightly wrap around his hand. He pokes his head out the window, quickly scanning the premises for any sign of her. Nothing.

Rin's words echo in his mind - " _There are still many things she won't understand. Don't let her misunderstand_ _ **you**_ _."_

He glances down at the picture of Rin once more. "Thanks Rin-chan."

He hops out the window.

 _Then I'll go to her._

* * *

He walks the familiar path to the orphanage. The sky above him is a thick grey.

 _Yumi hates winter at the orphanage._ She couldn't stand the cold that easily slipped through the cheap, broken windows. The children were always coughing on one another in the cramped space, and sickness spread like wildfire. The food was more scarce and less fresh. And chores increased once the temperatures dropped enough for snowfall.

He usually saw the most of Yumi during these times, so her absence is even more pronounced.

Kakashi walks through the threshold and maneuvers past the front desk when -

"Excuse me!"

He keeps going.

"Excuse me, sir!"

He turns to face a warden of the orphanage - judging by her outfit. "Me?"

"Yes of course, you! Where do you think you're going without checking in?"

"Ah, gomen. I visit often, so..."

"I've never seen you. And it's policy that you check in first." _Guess it's been longer than I thought._

"Hai." He trails back to the front desk.

"I'm Kimiko by the way. Nice to meet you." She flashes him a friendly smile.

"Kakashi."

"Kakashi, who are you here to see?"

"Yumi."

"Oh dear, you haven't heard?"

He blinks. "What?"

"She was adopted - almost a year ago now. A very nice couple from Tea Country."

 _WHAT?_

"Another girl came by asking for her as well. I guess Yumi didn't want to say any goodbyes." _She wouldn't leave just like that. Without a word. Would she?_

"You're sure? She's a small girl with brown hair - "

"- Perceptive, likes to cause trouble?" _It is her then._

"Yeah."

Kimiko watches Kakashi's expression closely, but he hides his emotions well. Like a ninja.

"You know she wasn't very...she didn't really fit in at the orphanage. The couple really took a liking to her and I'm sure she'll be much happier there."

 _She can't be gone. "_ Who was the other girl that came by?"

"Oh it was so long ago! She used to bring baked goods to the kids before she joined the academy. Very pretty girl with those blonde curls and -"

But Kakashi is already out the door. Blurring away toward the academy.

* * *

Mana stands out amongst the academy students - popular, though still clumsy. But as much attention as she receives from her peers, her attentions are focused purely on the target in front of her.

He watches until the bell sounds for the end of class, then waits by the front gate.

When she passes him, she's laughing in a group of girls who obviously adore her.

"Mana-san?"

The girls immediately stop talking.

"K-Kakashi-san?"

He hears the girls whisper beside her - "Another confession?" "Isn't that _Kakashi_ \- like 'Friend-Killer Kakashi'?" "Shhh don't let him hear you."

"Do you have a minute?" He ignores their gossip as he always does.

"O-of course." She turns to her friends "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Kakashi and Mana walk in awkward silence toward a peaceful clearing away from watching eyes.

"What's wrong Kakashi-san?"

"Have you heard from Yumi-chan recently?"

Mana tenses.

"No... no I haven't heard from her in a long time. I'm sorry. I actually didn't know she was adopted until a few months later."

"Me neither." _Well, until right now._

Mana's eyes widen - "She didn't say goodbye to you either?"

"No."

Mana looks toward the ground, guiltily. "Actually, the last time I saw her, we fought. I said some things... I didn't mean them, but I think maybe that's why she left so suddenly. I-I'm so sorry." She bows deeply.

"Eh? I mean - no please don't be. I'm sure it's not that." He thinks of Rin. "It's not that."

Silence. Both realize how they've never once been together without Yumi.

"Tea country, huh?"

Mana smiles. "In a way, it suits her."

Kakashi smiles. "Yeah. It does."

* * *

A/N: I wrote another fanfic with more humor so I could have some happiness lol. Also huge thank you to for the wonderful review. Warms my heart and helped me finish!


	20. Ready

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

"Is she ready?" Danzo looks down from one floor up, into the underground combat room. The room he stands in is clean and safely guarded behind a thick sheet of glass. Below, the walls are permanently stained in blood and guts.

An eerie smile stretches across Orochimaru's face. "Watch."

Yumi, drenched in sweat, struggles to stand. Her body sways lightly, disoriented. Deep gashes bleed out on her right torso and left arm. A torn, dirty cloth is tied around her head as a blindfold.

Standing across from her is a cloaked man in a panda mask.

Her ears twitch lightly, pin-pointing the light whir of electricity. _Two bulbs hanging from the ceiling. One is right above me, the second is 7 meters forward._

Without her sight, every drip of water or scuffle of an insect rings sharply in her ears. The moment her opponent's foot lifts from the ground, she knows - she hears the slight scuff and feels the shift of the air. She throws five kunai at him, which he easily evades. But the blades are not meant for him. Two of them strike the overhead bulbs and the room plunges into darkness. His fist meets empty air where she once was.

Though her training was far below the other members of Root, sensing is where she has always thrived.

Her opponent takes a defensive stance as he blurs back. She's ready. She has to be.

The moment his feet touch the ground, she's behind him. Her finger, sharpened by wind, slices into his arm. She's not strong enough to beat him in close combat. Not with the state her body is in.

But she won't need to.

Her blood, dripping down her hand, enters directly into his wound. She whispers into the darkness: "Temporary Paralysis Technique".

His body stills. Eyes frozen open, hands raised mid-seal. Complete, stone stillness.

"I win." An overhead light turns on, flooding the space in harsh light.

Danzo flickers in front of her, removing the blindfold. "It's not over." He glances at the still form of her opponent. "Kill him."

 _Isn't he on our side?_ Her brows furrow in confusion.

"I directly sealed his blood - the effects will last at least 3 hours. There's no need."

Danzo smiles. "Impressive, I've never heard of that technique extending for so long." His smile stays in place, but she watches as his chakra stirs and simmers. "But let me be very clear. Do not question me. Do not disobey me. Follow orders. That is the sacrifice you make to protect this village. That is the sacrifice of a ninja."

She had never known what it meant to be a ninja, though to be fair, she had never had a sensei to guide her. All she had were inklings through the windows into her friends' lives.

Through Guy's all-night training regimes, she knew it meant diligence. Through Shisui's expectant clan, she knew it meant duty. Through Obito's overzealous declarations of being Hokage, she knew it meant resolve.

And through all of them, she truly did know how much it meant sacrifice.

"Hai."

"Good. I have much to show you."

She falls into step with him as he walks away. And with a flick of his wrist, he lodges a shuriken into the back of her opponent's head. He falls to the ground in a heap.

"The village has no use for the weak."

Yumi cringes.

"Rid yourself of pity and your sympathy. If you want to win a war, there is no time for such hesitation."

And as she reads his chakra she finds that it's not cruelty or evil that drives his words, it's hardfast resolve.

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

* * *

"Kakashi - OI KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" He ducks as a pair of chopsticks comes flying at him fast enough to lodge into a concrete wall.

"Yo." He responds with his signature hand wave and bored, lidded eyes.

Gai runs up to Kakashi, grabs him in a chokehold, and quickly scurries back to his restaurant table. Asuma and Kurenai are seated at the other end of the table.

"I CHALLENGE YOU TO -"

"You hungry? We haven't ordered yet." Asuma interrupts, cigarette sticking out from one side of his mouth. He motions for Kakashi to sit across from him.

He hesitates for not even a second, but they all see it - him slowly allowing them in again. It took awhile, but they'd all noticed the differences in the past few weeks. He isn't the same as before and he wouldn't ever be, but they welcome him all the same.

"Your treat since we helped you move into the new place last week." Asuma grins.

"Ah, how can I say no to that." Kakashi takes a seat.

"How are you liking the apartment?" Kurenai smiles warmly at him.

"Nice. It has everything I need."

The server walks over to take their orders - a young boy, fidgeting constantly with his uniform. An obvious new-hire. "Are you ready to order? What would you like? Oh, do you want a drink? Water? Do you want to hear our specials?" The questions spew out of him in quick succession, with no room to breathe.

Kurenai chuckles and the poor boy flushes red. "I'll have the curry - and water is fine for me."

"Same for me."

"I'll have the agedashi tofu." _She likes this one._

Kakashi smiles to himself. _When this war is over, I'll take a mission to tea. First thing, I promise._

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lag!


	21. Stay Quiet

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Slow-burn romance.

* * *

 _Three years and are we any closer to the end?_

A black mask, in the shape of a cat, sits still as stone on Yumi's face. Her eyes lock onto a flickering orange dot in the distance - _a campfire -_ nestled along an enclave of the mountainside.

She'd been searching for a group of three Iwa nin, rumored to be transporting a list of Officials from various villages about to enter into an alliance against Konoha. The mission: intercept them before they could leave the Land of Fire. Retrieve the documents but do not open them - they are for Danzo's eyes ONLY. And as usual, leave no survivors.

All she was told was that one of them, likely the leader, could be identified by his huge stature - 8 feet tall, built like a rock, with a scarred gash across his jugular.

She pulls up the hood of her cloak and closes her eyes, fully blending in with the quiet shadows of the night.

Her senses stretch toward the campfire. _Two asleep. One on guard._

The guard hops down from his perch in the trees. His landing, while well-practiced and skilled, is heavy. It moves the earth with a shake and unsettles the air. _Judging by the shift of the air, he is at least 280 pounds. He could be it._

The guard walks the perimeter of the campsite as she watches and analyzes. _Yes, 8 feet. It's him._

Her eyes open - a beautiful gold glimmering under the moon. She likes her eyes. These days, it's the only thing about herself she recognizes. Her hair has long been kept short - shaved on her initiation. And day in and day out she is wrapped in the indistinguishable black cloak.

 _Time to finish this._

The enemy is not weak, but she can read them in the darkness as well as in the light.

And when her blade sinks into his chest, she thinks of the life she takes - she truly does. But she also thinks of the hatred in his heart. And the suffering of this war. She doesn't hesitate as she slits the throats of his two companions.

She does this all without a word.

Even as they ask her name, she stays quiet.

Even as they beg for mercy, she stays quiet.

Even as they make their final depart of this world, she stays quiet.

For three years she's been quiet.

* * *

"You're late!" Kurenai shakes her head.

"On my way here I helped a little girl get her kite out of the tree, but - "

Kurenai admonishes Kakashi with a light smack on the back of the head.

"Ah, gomen."

Asuma exhales a thick plume of smoke, then throws his arm around Kakashi's shoulder. Asuma, while only a year and half difference in age, had already shed any boyish features he had left. He shows a light stubble even at 14-years-old.

"C'mon it's Genma's birthday tonight. Let's let loose for once."

He sends a secretive smirk Kurenai's way - though hardly secretive when amidst ninja. She blushes, but smiles widely back.

Kakashi glances away, scratching at his cheek. _How obvious._

* * *

"There goes Danzo's pet."

A group of older recruits eye her warily.

"I hear he doesn't even have a soul"

"He's just a lifeless puppet."

She walks past them without a sound. And honestly, without a care. She has more to dwell on than whispers and jealousies.

Under her coat she holds the scroll close to her chest. The parchment is old - weathered, but in well-maintained condition. _Why would a list of current Konoha spies be on this scroll? It's obviously an artifact of some sort, maybe a clan heirloom._

But she already knows what Danzo would say. _That is not for you to know. That is not for you to question._

She grips the scroll, running her finger along the soft, grainy textures of the parchment. Like the delicate fur of a mint leaf.

The material itself a piece of history.

 _Only for Danzo's eyes._

 _Follow orders._ The mark on her tongue and the lashings across her body ensure that.

And she would have.

But when she turns the corner she sees slightly curled black tufts of hair and sharp, black eyes. Shisui stands beside his Fugaku outside Danzo's door - both decked in full Uchiha police garb.The first thing she thinks is how much she misses his smile.

And as if by her command, he smiles her way. Not as openly as a child, but with the warmth he would never lose.

She stops mid-step.

And for the first time in a long time, she doesn't follow orders.

She runs back the way she came, because if she doesn't, she'll pull off her mask and smile right back at him.

* * *

A sticky residue lingers on every surface of the bar. It's loud and cramped and it seems every hour someone manages to drop their drink. And every time that happens, the bar goes up in cheers for the too-far-gone patron.

He systematically chats to one or two familiar ninja, then retreats to a corner to people watch. Genma has his eyes on too many women to end well, but he's certainly enjoying the party.

He sips lightly at his beer - already accustomed to alcohol as it comes in handy on many an undercover mission. He likes the slight buzz as it dulls the loud music and louder crowd.

Tonight he's allowing that dullness to tug him any which way it wants.

He lets Asuma buy them another round of drinks.

He lets Gai pull him into the middle of the dance floor.

He lets a random woman circle her arms around his neck and swing her hips against him.

He lets himself give in.

To feel something or to prove to himself he feels nothing.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lag omg lol. Next chapters will have some flashbacks in them.


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